Recapping the Bailout Saga

1. Secretary of Treasury Paulson tells America that the (Financial) sky is falling, and that he needs $700 billion to fix the problems, no questions asked.
2. Congress and America responded with a frank, "WTF are you talking about?!?"
3. The media tries to find out what people think, and they are met with a skeptical public.
4. Democrats voice concerns over the Paulson proposal because there are no guarantees for "Main Street," aka, working Americans; Republicans voice concerns over government intervention of the "Free Market."
5. John McCain, who admitted to having little experience in economics and has no seat on a committee related to the crisis, decides to suspend his presidential campaign in order to "resolve" the apparent gridlock.
6. It is revealed (by people who work for Paulson) that not only was the $700 billion figure plucked out of thin air because it sounded like enough money, but the plan was in the works for months.
7. The Senate (both Democrats and Republicans) and the House Democrats come close to a deal that's slightly alters from Paulson's original proposal; House Republicans are still hesitant.
8. John McCain (after cancelling David Letterman to meet with Katie Couric) heads to D.C.
9. President bush calls a meeting with Congressional leaders and presidential candidates.
10. The Tentative Deal (#7) falls through, signs point to resistance from the House Republicans.
11. McCain heads to the 9/26/08 Debate, confident that he participation helped steer Congress to a correct solution. His aides push the meme that McCain is the hero of the bailout resolution.
12. President Bush goes on TV and begs Congress to pass the latest version of the bailout.
13. On 9/29/08, McCain himself takes credit for the current bailout proposal.
14. The bailout proposal vote fails in the House of Representatives.
15. The media run special after special highlighting that average working Americans will suffer if the bill does not pass Congress, and soon.
16. House Republicans publicly blame House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, despite her support of the bill and despite the fact that 60% of Democrats voted for the bill (as opposed to 33% of Republicans.
17. President Bush goes on TV (again) and begs Congress to pass the bill.

Did I miss anything? Please let me know.

P.S.: Is it me, or is every crisis (Russia vs. Georgia, the Wall Street Bailout) being used as an opportunity for John McCain to look like a strong, decisive leader? It's one thing to make suggestions or even offer your services, but he's jumped in feet first on everything, and without thinking about the pros and cons (let alone about the specifics of the issue-at-hand).