Horse-trading time in Washington
The US House of Representatives voted to reject the $700 billion finance sector bailout plan thrashed out among the congressional leaders of the two political parties over the weekend, despite intense pressure from President Bush and his most senior finance officials.
The world's stock markets, which had rallied in the expectation that the bipartisan deal would be approved, slumped. US stocks led the way down, with the Dow down almost seven percent and the NASDAQ down over nine percent.
The package was rejected by 228 votes to 205. The rejectionists were 133 Republicans (two thirds of them) and 95 Democrats. Three Representatives did not vote. One reason was common to both sides of the House: all of them are facing re-election on 4 November, and feedback from their constituents was running strongly against the measures.
Some commentators have suggested that a typically partisan speech by the Leader of the House, the relatively leftist Democrat Nancy Pelosi, caused the Republicans to turn against the bill. This seems unlikely: the crucial factor is that many Republicans perceive their political salvation in distancing themselves from the Bush administration.
Here's Dubya reading out the proposal before the vote. You can also see the video of it here.
