House To Reconvene After $700B Bailout Defeat

WASHINGTON (AP) – House leaders say they’re reconvening Thursday instead of adjourning for the year as planned, after dealing a $700 billion financial market bailout a stunning defeat.

The fate of the rescue package remained in doubt as Democrats and Republicans both said they wanted to resurrect it. They were locked in a brutal round of partisan finger-pointing over why it failed.

The Senate had planned a Wednesday vote on the measure. President Bush and his economic advisers, as well as congressional leaders in both parties say it’s vital to insulate ordinary Americans from the effects of Wall Street’s bad bets.

By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS, Associated Press Writer

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)