The Power of Rhetoric

About the failed bail-out plan:

Kevin Connolly, BBC News:

"Some Republicans are saying they were preparing to vote "yes" until they heard the closing remarks of Speaker Nancy Pelosi who criticised the ethos of Republican economics, which prompted them to change their minds at the very last minute."

"It is that a majority of members of Congress, backed by their voters, simply do not believe in a plan which basically involves the United States government borrowing hundreds of billions of dollars to prop up a financial system which is clearly deeply flawed."

Chris Isidore, CNN:

House minority leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said after the vote that passage would have been possible if it had not been for Pelosi's "partisan speech."

Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., one of the main congressional negotiators, dismissed the GOP claim that Pelosi's speech was responsible for Republicans voting against the bill. "Because somebody hurt their feelings, they decided to hurt the country," Frank said. "That's not plausible."