Senate Passes Bailout Plan 74-25; Wicker and Cochran Oppose

What a charmer McCain is. From that Times piece I linked above:

Only Senator Edward M. Kennedy, who is being treated for brain cancer, did not vote.

The presence in the Senate of both presidential candidates in the final weeks of the campaign gave weight to the moment. The political tension was clear as Senator Barack Obama walked to the Republican side of the aisle to greet John McCain, who offered a chilly look and a brief return handshake.

Mr. McCain did not make remarks on the legislation. Mr. Obama, in his speech, said the bailout plan was regrettable but necessary and he referred to the stock market drop after the House vote. “While that decline was devastating, the consequences of the credit crisis that caused it will be even worse if we do not act now,” he said.

In the House, officials of both parties said they were increasingly confident that politically enticing provisions attached to the original bill — including $150 billion in tax breaks for individuals and businesses — would win over at least the dozen or so votes needed to reverse Monday’s outcome and send the measure to President Bush.

The stock market reflected nervous jitters over a vote that was to occur after it closed, but that could affect the future of many Wall Street workers. The Dow Jones industrial average was off almost 220 points during the day, but recovered to close down just 19.6 points, or 0.2 percent, at 10,831.07.

Besides the tax breaks, senators also made a change that had drawn widespread support in recent days — an increase in the amount of bank deposits covered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, to $250,000 from $100,000. And the entire package was attached to legislation requiring insurers to treat mental health conditions more like general health problems — a long-sought goal of Mr. Domenici and other lawmakers who demanded such parity.

As the shape of the new bill became clearer Wednesday, some House Republicans and Democrats indicated that the changes were enough to get them to take another look at the measure and perhaps change their minds — even though the new items being added would substantially increase the burden on taxpayers.

Oh, and McCain voted for it, too. Forgot to mention that.

Whew ... I was almost afraid that we wouldn't get a bailout and I wouldn't be able to get more credit to buy more useless crap I don't need. Thanks Senators for protecting the American way.