Today looks like being a day of drama in Washington as the world’s
economy teeters on the brink. I give a late night (our time) report
from the New York Times (very Democrat!) indicating a major political
row. [As the day wears on I will send other reports rather than
holding them back for one jumbo report which makes for difficult
reading]
Later will come a hard-hitting attack on the plan from Jeff Randall
here. But as with so many critics even he, whom I respect, has no
alternative plan.
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===========================
NEW YORK TIMES 235.9.08
Talks Implode During Day of Chaos; Fate of Bailout Plan Remains
Unresolved
This article was reported by David M. Herszenhorn, Carl Hulse and
Sheryl Gay Stolberg and written by Ms. Stolberg.
WASHINGTON — The day began with an agreement that Washington hoped
would end the financial crisis that has gripped the nation. It
dissolved into a verbal brawl in the Cabinet Room of the White House,
urgent warnings from the president and pleas from a Treasury
secretary who knelt before the House speaker and appealed for her
support.
“If money isn’t loosened up, this sucker could go down,” President
Bush declared Thursday as he watched the $700 billion bailout package
fall apart before his eyes, according to one person in the room.
It was an implosion that spilled out from behind closed doors into
public view in a way rarely seen in Washington.
By 10:30 p.m., after another round of talks, Congressional
negotiators gave up for the night and said they would try again on
Friday. Left uncertain was the fate of the bailout, which the White
House says is urgently needed to fix broken financial and credit
markets, as well as whether the first presidential debate would go
forward as planned Friday night in Mississippi.
When Congressional leaders and Senators John McCain and Barack Obama,
the two major party presidential candidates, trooped to the White
House on Thursday afternoon, most signs pointed toward a bipartisan
agreement on a grand compromise that could be accepted by all sides
and signed into law by the weekend. It was intended to pump billions
of dollars into the financial system, restoring liquidity and keeping
credit flowing to businesses and consumers.
“We’re in a serious economic crisis,” Mr. Bush told reporters as the
meeting began shortly before 4 p.m. in the Cabinet Room, adding, “My
hope is we can reach an agreement very shortly.”
But once the doors closed, the smooth-talking House Republican
leader, John A. Boehner of Ohio, surprised many in the room by
declaring that his caucus could not support the plan to allow the
government to buy distressed mortgage assets from ailing financial
companies.
Mr. Boehner pressed an alternative that involved a smaller role for
the government, and Mr. McCain, whose support of the deal is critical
if fellow Republicans are to sign on, declined to take a stand.
The talks broke up in angry recriminations, according to accounts
provided by a participant and others who were briefed on the session,
and were followed by dueling news conferences and interviews rife
with partisan finger-pointing.
In the Roosevelt Room after the session, the Treasury secretary,
Henry M. Paulson Jr., literally bent down on one knee as he pleaded
with Nancy Pelosi, the House Speaker, not to “blow it up” by
withdrawing her party’s support for the package over what Ms. Pelosi
derided as a Republican betrayal.
“I didn’t know you were Catholic,” Ms. Pelosi said, a wry reference
to Mr. Paulson’s kneeling, according to someone who observed the
exchange. She went on: “It’s not me blowing this up, it’s the
Republicans.”
Mr. Paulson sighed. “I know. I know.”
It was the very outcome the White House had said it intended to
avoid, with partisan presidential politics appearing to trample what
had been exceedingly delicate Congressional negotiations.
Senator Christopher J. Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut and chairman of
the Senate banking committee, denounced the session as “a rescue plan
for John McCain,” and proclaimed it a waste of precious hours that
could have been spent negotiating.
But a top aide to Mr. Boehner said it was Democrats who had done the
political posturing. The aide, Kevin Smith, said Republicans
revolted, in part, because they were chafing at what they saw as an
attempt by Democrats to jam through an agreement on the bailout early
Thursday and deny Mr. McCain an opportunity to participate in the
agreement.
The day seemed to hold promise as it began. On Wednesday night, Mr.
Bush had delivered a prime-time televised address to the nation,
warning that “our country could experience a long and painful
recession” if lawmakers did not act quickly to pass a huge Wall
Street bailout plan.
After spending Thursday morning behind closed doors, senior lawmakers
from both parties emerged shortly before 1 p.m. in the ornate painted
corridors on the first floor of the Capitol to herald their agreement
on the broad outlines of a deal.
They said the legislation, which would authorize unprecedented
government intervention to buy distressed debt from private firms,
would include limits on pay packages for executives of some firms
that seek assistance and a mechanism for the government to take an
equity stake in some of the firms, so taxpayers have a chance to
profit if the bailout plan works.
“I now expect we will indeed have a plan that can pass the House,
pass the Senate, be signed by the president, and bring a sense of
certainty to this crisis that is still roiling in the markets,” said
Robert F. Bennett, Republican of Utah, a member of the banking
committee.
economy teeters on the brink. I give a late night (our time) report
from the New York Times (very Democrat!) indicating a major political
row. [As the day wears on I will send other reports rather than
holding them back for one jumbo report which makes for difficult
reading]
Later will come a hard-hitting attack on the plan from Jeff Randall
here. But as with so many critics even he, whom I respect, has no
alternative plan.
xxxxxxxxxxxxx cs
===========================
NEW YORK TIMES 235.9.08
Talks Implode During Day of Chaos; Fate of Bailout Plan Remains
Unresolved
This article was reported by David M. Herszenhorn, Carl Hulse and
Sheryl Gay Stolberg and written by Ms. Stolberg.
WASHINGTON — The day began with an agreement that Washington hoped
would end the financial crisis that has gripped the nation. It
dissolved into a verbal brawl in the Cabinet Room of the White House,
urgent warnings from the president and pleas from a Treasury
secretary who knelt before the House speaker and appealed for her
support.
“If money isn’t loosened up, this sucker could go down,” President
Bush declared Thursday as he watched the $700 billion bailout package
fall apart before his eyes, according to one person in the room.
It was an implosion that spilled out from behind closed doors into
public view in a way rarely seen in Washington.
By 10:30 p.m., after another round of talks, Congressional
negotiators gave up for the night and said they would try again on
Friday. Left uncertain was the fate of the bailout, which the White
House says is urgently needed to fix broken financial and credit
markets, as well as whether the first presidential debate would go
forward as planned Friday night in Mississippi.
When Congressional leaders and Senators John McCain and Barack Obama,
the two major party presidential candidates, trooped to the White
House on Thursday afternoon, most signs pointed toward a bipartisan
agreement on a grand compromise that could be accepted by all sides
and signed into law by the weekend. It was intended to pump billions
of dollars into the financial system, restoring liquidity and keeping
credit flowing to businesses and consumers.
“We’re in a serious economic crisis,” Mr. Bush told reporters as the
meeting began shortly before 4 p.m. in the Cabinet Room, adding, “My
hope is we can reach an agreement very shortly.”
But once the doors closed, the smooth-talking House Republican
leader, John A. Boehner of Ohio, surprised many in the room by
declaring that his caucus could not support the plan to allow the
government to buy distressed mortgage assets from ailing financial
companies.
Mr. Boehner pressed an alternative that involved a smaller role for
the government, and Mr. McCain, whose support of the deal is critical
if fellow Republicans are to sign on, declined to take a stand.
The talks broke up in angry recriminations, according to accounts
provided by a participant and others who were briefed on the session,
and were followed by dueling news conferences and interviews rife
with partisan finger-pointing.
In the Roosevelt Room after the session, the Treasury secretary,
Henry M. Paulson Jr., literally bent down on one knee as he pleaded
with Nancy Pelosi, the House Speaker, not to “blow it up” by
withdrawing her party’s support for the package over what Ms. Pelosi
derided as a Republican betrayal.
“I didn’t know you were Catholic,” Ms. Pelosi said, a wry reference
to Mr. Paulson’s kneeling, according to someone who observed the
exchange. She went on: “It’s not me blowing this up, it’s the
Republicans.”
Mr. Paulson sighed. “I know. I know.”
It was the very outcome the White House had said it intended to
avoid, with partisan presidential politics appearing to trample what
had been exceedingly delicate Congressional negotiations.
Senator Christopher J. Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut and chairman of
the Senate banking committee, denounced the session as “a rescue plan
for John McCain,” and proclaimed it a waste of precious hours that
could have been spent negotiating.
But a top aide to Mr. Boehner said it was Democrats who had done the
political posturing. The aide, Kevin Smith, said Republicans
revolted, in part, because they were chafing at what they saw as an
attempt by Democrats to jam through an agreement on the bailout early
Thursday and deny Mr. McCain an opportunity to participate in the
agreement.
The day seemed to hold promise as it began. On Wednesday night, Mr.
Bush had delivered a prime-time televised address to the nation,
warning that “our country could experience a long and painful
recession” if lawmakers did not act quickly to pass a huge Wall
Street bailout plan.
After spending Thursday morning behind closed doors, senior lawmakers
from both parties emerged shortly before 1 p.m. in the ornate painted
corridors on the first floor of the Capitol to herald their agreement
on the broad outlines of a deal.
They said the legislation, which would authorize unprecedented
government intervention to buy distressed debt from private firms,
would include limits on pay packages for executives of some firms
that seek assistance and a mechanism for the government to take an
equity stake in some of the firms, so taxpayers have a chance to
profit if the bailout plan works.
“I now expect we will indeed have a plan that can pass the House,
pass the Senate, be signed by the president, and bring a sense of
certainty to this crisis that is still roiling in the markets,” said
Robert F. Bennett, Republican of Utah, a member of the banking
committee.
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