CE #2

Article:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/29/AR2008092900623.html?sid=ST2008092903526&s_pos=
A rebellion in the House killed a $700 billion rescue plan for the nation's financial system Monday September 29th, sending global stock prices plunging, prompting fierce recriminations on the presidential campaign. The Dow dropped over 750 points and the citizens are in utter disbelief and you can hear the beginnings of an uproar. A congressional vote has almost never caused such high drama and produced such immediate repercussions, directly from the House floor to the trading floor. Wall Street traders huddling around television screens watched lawmakers denounce the bailout legislation, and then sent the Dow plummeting. Stocks had recovered somewhat by the time the vote was gaveled to a close, but jittery investors sent them plunging again as Republicans and Democrats took turns blaming each other for the defeat. In a few hours, $1.2 trillion in paper wealth was wiped out. In the middle of the presidential campaign, the collapse of the deal left Washington buzzing and parties blaming one another for the failure of the economy. Republicans initially blamed Pelosi, saying her floor speech “poisoned the atmosphere and invited partisan retribution.” When really very few were actually there to hear the speech that she made. Republican leaders backed away within hours, conceding they never had the votes they had promised. Democrats found strength in numbers, saying nearly two-thirds of their members voted for the bill. They continued to say how unbelievable it was that the republicans only had 65 votes to pass their own bill. If anyone is to blame for a record sell-off on Wall Street, it should be them. One sign of this is that no representative in McCain’s home state of Arizona voted for the bill. Personally I think that this is ridiculous. What was the point of McCain “putting off his campaign” if the bill wasn’t even going to be passed by his own party. The Congress will try to come to a compromise over the next couple of days but I do not think they will come to an agreement. This article and the action of not passing the bill also show how much power George W. Bush has lost in the house and with his own party members. As Pelosi said, “what happened today cannot stand.” If it does then our economy is just going to go further down the drain and finally reach the sewers.