The Failout Impacts the Election(s)

With No Plan B, House Reluctantly Passes Politically Risky Measure
Jonathan Weisman, David Cho and Paul Kane, The Washington Post: "'There is no joy,' said Rep. Sue Myrick (R-N.C.), a rock-ribbed conservative who switched her 'no' vote to a 'yes' yesterday, even though a Democratic surge in North Carolina is making her once-easy district look increasingly dicey. 'I don't like the bill. I'm not going to defend the bill. . . . I had to do the right thing, even though, politically, it might kill me.' In some sense, the crisis atmosphere that has gripped Washington during its struggle to deal with the damage to world financial markets brought out the very worst in the city, precisely the chaotic, partisan atmosphere that voters seem so ready to punish next month at the polls."

GOP Strategists Fear Greater Losses in November
Chris Cillizza and Shailagh Murray, The Washington Post: "With the party already struggling to generate enthusiasm for its brand, Republican strategists fear that an outpouring of public anger generated by Congress's struggle to pass a rescue package for the financial industry may contribute to a disaster at the polls for the GOP in November. 'The crisis has affected the entire ticket,' said Jan van Lohuizen, a Republican consultant who handled the polling for President Bush's reelection campaign. 'The worse the state's economy, the greater the impact.'"