The Senate today is expected to take up and pass the $700 billion proposal to right the financial markets; a vote in the House is expected later this week.. The Washington Times notes the bill is now being dubbed a "rescue plan" by proponents, who believe the term "bailout" engendered much of the public animosity toward the plan. USA Today reports the Senate "is moving to revive a $700 billion Wall Street rescue plan with a vote tonight that Democratic and Republican leaders predicted will put the legislation on track for enactment later this week." Sens. John McCain, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden "announced they will interrupt their...campaigns to vote for the measure."
The Politico, in a story headlined "Bailout Not Dead Yet," says that "unlike the tumultuous House vote, the Senate roll call is expected to go more smoothly. While nothing is a slam dunk at this point, there is an expectation on both sides of the aisle that the bailout could receive 60 votes in the Senate, enough to overcome any potential filibuster." GOP Sen. Judd Gregg, on CNBC last night, said, "We have the votes in the Senate."
The New York Times reports senators agreed "to add tax breaks and a higher limit for insured bank deposits in a bid to attract enough votes to reverse a shocking defeat in the House. ... The senators issued no details of their proposal and said none would be available until Wednesday." The AP notes that the "tax cut plan" in the Senate package has already been "rejected by the House," and its inclusion "risked a backlash from House Democrats insisting they be paid for with tax increases elsewhere."
The Wall Street Journal reports "the move to boost deposit-insurance limits, which the White House has raised with industry players, received a boost Tuesday when" McCain and Obama "endorsed the idea." The Financial Times reports House Minority Leader John Boehner "said the support expressed by" Obama and McCain "for the FDIC cap increase was 'welcome news.'" On its front page, the New York Times notes the provision would "increase the limit on federally insured bank deposits to $250,000, from $100,000." The idea has become "so popular" that both Republicans and Democrats "vied to claim the idea as their own."
The Hill reports "Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced the agreement in a joint appearance on the Senate floor just after 7 p.m." The Christian Science Monitor, Washington Times, Roll Call and AFP, among other media outlets, also report the Senate announcement.
Stocks Surge; Dow Up 485 Points The AP reports, "Wall Street snapped back Tuesday after its biggest sell-off in years amid growing expectations that lawmakers will salvage a $700 billion rescue plan for the financial sector. But the seized-up credit markets where businesses turn to raise money showed no sign of relief." The Dow "rose 485.21, or 4.68 percent, to 10,850.66 after falling nearly 7 percent on Monday to its lowest close in nearly three years."
ABC World News led its broadcast reporting, "What a difference a day makes. The economic crisis is far from over, but today, Washington and Wall Street took a collective deep breath and calmed down a bit." The CBS Evening News reported that "Wall Street is optimistic [a bailout] will get done," which is why "the market rallied, today." NBC Nightly News said in its lead story, "We still don't know how any of this would be paid for, but just the prospect of a bailout was enough to rally the market today." USA Today, Washington Post, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Financial Times and Wall Street Journal also credit the rally to expectations Congress would pass a bill.
Calls To Capitol Hill Now Support Plan The Washington Post reports, "There was a widespread sense on Capitol Hill that Monday's vote had snapped the public to attention about the potential repercussions of Congress's failure to act." Whereas "last week, House and Senate offices were bombarded with calls from opponents who viewed the bill as a Wall Street boondoggle," the "pattern shifted sharply after Monday's vote, aides to lawmakers in both parties said."
Bush Warns Things Could Get A Lot Worse In remarks yesterday morning, President Bush again urged Congress to pass his financial bailout plan. The Los Angeles Times reports that following the package's defeat in the House Bush is "trying to reclaim a leadership role after members of his own Republican Party deserted him." He "spoke shortly before stock markets were scheduled to open in the United States," seeking "to send a signal of resolve to Wall Street and near-emergency to Congress."
The AP notes Bush "warned of painful, lasting damage for millions of people if lawmakers don't get moving." The Financial Times adds that Bush "maintained that 'much if not all' of the $700bn cost of the plan would be eventually returned to taxplayers." The Washington Post says in a story titled "Bush's Warnings Of Danger Are No Longer As Powerful" that "throughout his presidency, Bush has often relied on similar warnings of imminent danger to gain support for some of his most controversial initiatives, including the US invasion of Iraq, tax cuts and broad expansions of federal surveillance powers." However, "this time, it hasn't worked so far."
Much of today's media analysis is markedly harsh on House GOP conservatives for Monday's House vote against the financial measure. The Washington Post's Dan Balz includes among the "losers from Monday's debacle" President Bush and "next in line are the House Republicans, long the ideological outliers in a political party that aspires to majority status." Roll Call, in an article titled, "Anarchy Reigns Over GOP," reports that "shellshocked GOP leaders who had urgently and passionately argued for the deal that they had negotiated were left scrambling for answers. ... Aides blamed Members who privately said they would back the bill only to vote no." The Washington Post's Michael Gerson, meanwhile, says "House Republicans once again revealed the souls of backbenchers -- spouting their ideological purity from atop the ruins of the financial system."
Pelosi's Leadership Also Faulted The Los Angeles Times' Janet Hook says Speaker Pelosi "did not look like a speaker of the whole House this week. ... Republicans deserted in droves, Democrats were split, and Pelosi ended the floor debate before the vote with a passionate critique of Republican economic policies." The New York Times notes that Speaker Pelosi "normally enjoys warm relations with members of the House's black and Hispanic caucuses, but a large number of them revolted Monday against legislation, which she supported, to rescue the financial industry."
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ABC World News reported Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama were "sounding far less partisan than they have in days past. Both candidates spoke with our correspondents, each saying it's critical for the American public to understand how a rescue package would work, and to understand just how high the stakes really are." NBC Nightly News adds Obama called on Congress to "step up to the plate. Do what's right for this country," while McCain said, "I'm committed to doing whatever's necessary in a bipartisan fashion, and there will be plenty of time to point the finger of blame." Fox News' Special Report reported that "before a teeming crowd...in Reno," Obama said the bill "needs a bipartisan bucket brigade." Sen. Obama: "There will be time to punish those who set the fire, but now is the moment for us to come together and put the fire out." Fox added that "at a round-table discussion of economic woes in Des Moines, Iowa, John McCain echoed Obama's call for action, even amid obvious public misgivings."
However, while the candidates' rhetoric moderated yesterday, both sides or their surrogates were up with ads targeted the other over the financial crisis. The AP reports a "new minute-long McCain commercial features" former President Bill Clinton "asserting that congressional Democrats could have done more to regulate the nation's major mortgage financiers." In a clip "taken from a Sept. 25 interview on ABC's 'Good Morning America,' Clinton says: 'I think the responsibility that the Democrats have may rest more in resisting any efforts by Republicans in the Congress, or by me when I was president, to put some standards and tighten up a little on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.'" The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel adds that a new Republican National Committee ad airing "in Wisconsin and five other swing states plays to voter anger over the rescue plan, saying, 'Wall Street squanders our money, and Washington is forced to bail them out with...you guessed it...our money.'" Meanwhile, "MoveOn.org has been airing an ad that assails the rescue plan, without mentioning that" Obama backs it, blaming the financial mess on Republicans with "ties to McCain and on deregulation policies that McCain favored."
The Washington Post reports, "Violence in Iraq dropped further during the summer although security gains remain 'reversible and uneven,' with the main threats coming from Iranian-backed militias and the Shiite-led Iraqi government's slow integration of volunteer Sunni fighters," known as the Sons of Iraq, according to a Pentagon report released yesterday. The quarterly report cautioned that the "potential is growing, moreover, for politically driven violence as ethnic, tribal and religious groups vie for influence in advance of provincial elections planned in coming months."
McClatchy reports from Iraq that in Baghdad there is "a measure of security for the first time in years, and the US-backed Sunni militia that was stood up here, known as the Sons of Iraq or Awakening Councils, say it's the reason for the change." McClatchy adds that today "54,419" militia fighters "in Baghdad province will transition to Iraqi government control," though the Sons of Iraq "worry that putting them under the control of Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki is a ploy to detain and disband them."
Meanwhile, the AP reports, "The number of Iraqi security forces killed in September rose by nearly a third to 159 compared with the same period last year, Associated Press figures showed Tuesday. US troop deaths for the same period fell by nearly 40 percent to 25." The Financial Times reports the Iraqi government "has begun talks with European allies about arms purchases as it rebuilds its military in a drive towards independence from US forces."
The New York Times reports Gen. David H. Petraeus "said in an interview this week that he expected the fight against the insurgents in Afghanistan and Pakistan to get worse before it got better." Petraeus said improving the situation "would require taking away militant sanctuaries and strongholds that the insurgents would defend tenaciously" -- a task he warned that "will be very difficult."
Military "Frustrated" With Bush The Christian Science Monitor reports, "The US military is working to put a new strategy in place for Afghanistan and Pakistan that could allow it to expand airfields, preposition military forces and equipment, and prepare for a more robust effort soon against Islamist extremists in the region." The Monitor adds that "frustrated for years by a lack of direction from the White House on Afghanistan, many defense officials say time is of the essence in developing a new way forward and having it ready to implement as soon as a new president is seated and can agree to it."
Karzai Seeks Saudi-Brokered Taliban Talks The Financial Times reports Afghan President Hamid Karzai "risked angering members of his government and his US backers on Tuesday when he revealed he had asked the Saudis to help broker peace talks with the Taliban leadership." Karzai "said his envoys had travelled to Saudi Arabia and neighbouring Pakistan to try to kick-start negotiations that are increasingly seen as the only solution to the violent insurgency gripping Afghanistan." The New York Times reports Karzai "said his appeals had failed to yield any talks, and his tone suggested a degree of frustration with the Saudi government for not having acted more decisively. Nor was there any indication that senior Taliban leaders were ready for talks on any grounds that the Karzai government and its Western backers would be likely to accept."
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The run-up to the Thursday vice presidential debate is generating significant media coverage, with reports mostly focused on the low expectations for Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, although Sen. Joe Biden does draw some fire for recent gaffes. The AP, for example, reports the debate between the "often ill-informed newcomer" Palin and "often gaffe-prone veteran" Biden "offers unusually large pitfalls - and promise." NBC Nightly News reported Palin is "reportedly not doing well in practices, retreating to McCain's Sedona compound to work with his top aides." The New York Times adds, "Not since Dan Quayle took the stage in 1988 have debate expectations for a major party candidate been as low as they will be on Thursday for" Palin. The Los Angeles Times says that during Palin's "exposure to the high-stakes environment of political debates, she has unnerved both her handlers and her opponents." Fox News' Special Report adds that "many Republicans are not expecting much from" Palin.
A new ABC News/Washington Post survey of 916 likely voters taken from September 27-29 shows Obama leading 50%-46%. Including 3rd party candidates, Obama's lead drops to 48%-45%. A possible silver lining for McCain, says the Washington Post, is that in the last ABC News/WPost, Obama "led by a nine-point margin." ABC World News reported, "When you burrow down into the numbers, you find many of the voters who may decide this election are shifting back and forth in their allegiance." ABC (Stephanopoulos) added: "They are the Independents, first of all, and you really see a dramatic move here. Look at the numbers right after the Republican convention." McCain "was up by about ten points. Last week, big swing to...Obama, plus fourteen. Now...McCain has pulled back ahead. We've seen similar dramatic moves among white women, another changeable group in this election. ... Now...McCain is way back up. About one in five voters say they could still change their minds in this election."
The three tracking polls also show Obama maintaining a lead. The Gallup daily presidential tracking poll of 2,729 registered voters taken September 27-29 shows Obama leading McCain 49%-43%. The Rasmussen Reports automated daily presidential tracking poll for September 30 shows Obama leading McCain 51%-45%. The bipartisan George Washington University Battleground daily tracking poll of 1,000 likely voters shows Obama leading McCain 48%-46%, a switch from the last several days, when McCain led Obama by 2 in the poll. The poll surveyed 200 voters each night from September 24-25 and September 28-29. Beginning with last night's survey, the Battleground poll no longer weighted for party affiliation.
Polls Split In Ohio A SurveyUSA automated poll of 693 likely Ohio voters taken September 28-29 shows McCain leading Obama 49%-48%. An Insider Advantage /Poll Position survey of 512 likely Ohio voters taken September 29 shows Obama leading McCain 49%-47%. A Quinnipiac University poll of 1,203 likely Ohio voters taken September 22-26, before the debate, shows Obama leading McCain 49%-42%. A second survey of 825 likely voters taken September 27-29, after the debate, shows Obama leading 50%-42%.
Obama Up In Florida A Quinnipiac University poll of 1,161 likely Florida voters taken September 22-26, before the debate, shows Obama leading McCain 49%-43%. A second survey of 836 likely voters taken September 27-29, after the debate, shows Obama leading 51%-43%.
Obama Up In Pennsylvania The Muhlenberg College /Allentown Morning Call tracking poll of 601 likely Pennsylvania voters taken September 25-29 shows Obama leading McCain 49%-41%. A Quinnipiac University poll of 1,138 likely Pennsylvania voters taken September 22-26, before the debate, shows Obama leading McCain 49%-43%. A second survey of 832 likely voters taken September 27-29, after the debate, shows Obama leading 54%-39%.
Virginia Polls Differ An American Research Group poll of 600 likely Virginia voters taken September 27-29 shows McCain leading Obama 49%-46%. An Insider Advantage /Poll Position survey of 436 likely Virginia voters taken September 29 shows Obama leading McCain 51%-45%.
McCain Up 3 In Nevada An American Research Group poll of 600 likely Nevada voters taken September 27-29 shows McCain leading Obama 49%-47%.
McCain Up 3 In Indiana A SurveyUSA automated poll of 687 likely Indiana voters taken September 28-29 for WHAS-TV Louisville and WCPO-TV Cincinnati shows McCain leading Obama 48%-45%.
McCain Up 3 In North Carolina An American Research Group poll of 600 likely North Carolina voters taken September 27-29 shows McCain leading Obama 49%-46%.
McCain Up 8 In Georgia A SurveyUSA automated poll of 677 likely Georgia voters taken September 28-29 shows McCain leading Obama 52%-44%.
Obama Up In Two New Jersey Polls A SurveyUSA automated poll of 611 likely New Jersey voters taken September 27-28 for WABC-TV New York and WCAU-TV Philadelphia shows Obama leading McCain 52%-42%. A Strategic Vision poll of 800 likely New Jersey voters taken September 26-28 shows Obama leading McCain 48%-39%.
McCain Up Big In Oklahoma A SurveyUSA automated poll of 656 likely Oklahoma voters taken September 28-29 for KFOR-TV Oklahoma City shows McCain leading Obama 64%-34%.
McCain Up 21 In Arizona A Rasmussen Reports automated poll of 500 likely Arizona voters taken September 29 shows McCain leading Obama 59%-38%.
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Jay Leno: "Happy Rosh Hashanah!" (With the holiday, Congress is not in session.) "The stock market made a big comeback today. See, that's the key to saving the economy. Send these idiots home so they can't screw up anymore."
Jay Leno: "As you know, Congress voted against the bailout. See, the problem" in this case is that "members of Congress...were told to vote their conscience. And of course, this totally confused them. 'Conscience?'"
David Letterman: "I guess you heard the news" that "the House killed the bailout plan. So Washington failed to act? Oh, I didn't see that coming. Wow!"
David Letterman: "But...we have the big vice presidential debate coming up on Thursday," and "Sarah Palin is busy preparing." Right now, for example, "she is practicing her caribou caught in the lights look."
Conan O'Brien: "A lot of people now have to explain their 'no' vote from yesterday. When asked why he voted against the economic bailout plan, Congressman Paul Brown said, this is a quote, 'It's a huge cow patty with a piece of marshmallow stuck in the middle.' Yeah. In a related story, don't have dinner at Congressman Paul Brown's house."
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