Between stocks and a hard place

Minutes ago, the House of Representatives shot down the proposed bailout package 228-205, causing the stocks to fall over 700 points and bringing all of Washington back to a depressed, frantic square one.

What is so bizarre about this whole thing is how little we actually have learned about these packages that keep getting refused, the most recent being dubbed "a slippery slope to socialism" by Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Tex.), "a major, major change" by House Speaker Nanci Pelosi, "a coffin on top of Ronald Reagan's coffin" by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and just plain "bold" by President Bush.

What everybody does seem to agree on is that we are in a rush. We must act fast before the money dissapears forever, before more banks collapse, before social security becomes moot. I find it mildly encouraging that, for better or worse, the House is refusing to agree to anything too swiftly.

From the most recent NYT article, the clearest outline of bailout stipulations I've seen thus far:

All sides had to surrender something. The administration had to accept limits on executive pay and tougher oversight; Democrats had to sacrifice a push to allow bankruptcy judges to rewrite mortgages; and Republicans fell short in their effort to require that the federal government insure, rather than buy, the bad debt.

Even so, lawmakers on all sides said the bill had been significantly improved from the Bush administration’s original proposal.

The final version of the bill included a deal-sealing plan for eventually recouping losses; if the Treasury program to purchase and resell troubled mortgage-backed securities has lost money after five years, the president must submit a plan to Congress to recover those losses from the financial industry. Presumably that plan would involve new fees or taxes, perhaps on securities transactions.

I also find it strange how cautious the candidates have been to speak on the bailout plan, both now and even when prompted during last Friday's debate. It's obvious neither Obama nor McCain has had ample time to review any version thus far, but there is potential in these discussions for one to take a firm stance--as a president should be prepared to do--and slam the other for not being able to act swiftly and executively. Unfortunately, nobody seems ready to be that ballsy.