In a somber and rare demonstration of bipartisan unity, the Senate voted 74-25 today for a $700 billion rescue of the nation’s banking system – loaded with $150 billion in tax breaks – and sent it back to the House for a second chance on Friday.
Senators, including both presidential candidates, Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain, remained seated during the vote, a symbol of the weight they placed upon the stupendously expensive emergency bailout and the votes they cast in the face of intense public opposition just five weeks before an election.
The vote united some of the Senate’s most liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans, both in assent and dissent. Obama and McCain both voted for the bill.
Obama, a junior senator from Illinois but now the hope of his party, spoke during the daylong debate and gave House Democrats still in opposition a strong shove.
“To Democrats and Republicans who’ve opposed this plan,” Obama said, “I say step up to the plate, let’s do what’s right for the country at this time, because the time to act is now.”
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/01/MNFN139LF0.DTL&type=politics
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