In halls of Congress, shock and awe

WASHINGTON — After the House's defeat of a financial bailout bill on Monday, lawmakers were left stunned, frightened and sometimes furious.

"Of course I am afraid of what the future holds," Rep. Jose Serrano, a Democrat from the Bronx, said moments after the House voted 228-205 to stop the bailout.

Serrano was walking quickly away from the Capitol, sheltered from a warm sun by the still-green leaves of oak and ash trees. He was disgusted. Serrano knew Wall Street was tumbling into chaos, and that could not bode well for his state's tax base.

"There were supposed to be a hundred Republican votes," he said, instead of the 65 actually cast in favor. "I'm shocked that the Republicans didn't come through for their president."

Just an hour earlier, the afternoon had promised to play out differently. The pre-vote atmosphere on the House floor was bipartisan, with Republican Leader John Boehner of Ohio getting applause from some high-profile Democrats as he spoke.

"These are the votes that separate the men from the boys and the girls from the women," Boehner said, urging all of the ladies and gentlemen of the House to approve the bill.

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland also called for unity, saying, "America faces a crisis, and Americans call out for us to come together to fix this crisis."

The 15-minute vote began. As the nays started building a wider margin, consternation grew and some members spread the news of plummeting stock values. The vote was held open for several minutes beyond the planned cutoff, giving party leaders a chance to persuade lawmakers to change their votes. But few flipped.

Hoyer and other key Democrats walked to the Republican side of the House aisle to confer with Boehner — to no avail. Hoyer walked back toward the dais, and the vote was announced.

While Serrano could walk away from the stunning scene, the Democratic and Republican leaders had to face the hordes of howling reporters.

Republican leaders were the first to apply their spin to the story.

Boehner targeted in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat whose pre-vote speech criticizing GOP economic policies infuriated Republicans. "I do believe that we could have gotten there today had it not been for this partisan speech," Boehner declared.

After Boehner and company left the microphones, the scores of reporters raced to the Rayburn Room, where the usually perfectly coiffed speaker looked mussed and tired as she did her own spinning. "We delivered on our side of the bargain" in delivering half her party's votes, she said, while the Republicans had failed.

Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., a former House member, wandered into the wood-paneled room to look around. He was deeply disappointed by the partisan rancor that undermined a bill he supported. "We're Americans first," he said.

But that sense of pride and confidence seemed to be fraying among other members.

"Before every conference, someone from the conference prays and then we do the Pledge" of Allegiance, said Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who supported the bill. "You just get the sense during prayer time that a little more attention is being paid."

Now the members will have to focus on putting together a new version of the bailout.

As lawmakers and journalists began to disperse, the halls again belonged to the tourists. They stared at statues of great Americans and took comfort in the lessons of history.

Jeff Jones of Fort Wayne, Ind., said he knew the stock market was tanking. But he felt calm. "This is just democracy in action," he said. "I'm glad the bill failed."

He said he knew his retirement savings had taken a hit, "but the market will come back."

Outside, the sun kept shining. The early autumn is still quite warm in Washington. The cold winds have not yet begun to blow.

Marilyn Geewax is a Washington correspondent for Cox Newspapers. Jason Embry of the Austin American-Statesman and Jessica Wehrman of the Dayton Daily News contributed to this article.