MORNING READ

The finger pointing over who deserves blame for the House’s rejection of the bailout bill continues online. Conservatives have singled out House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for being too partisan and they now want her to resign. Liberals say it’s the mostly the House Republicans, whom they see as short-sighted. With lawmakers unsure what to do next, the liberal bloggers suggest that House Democratic leaders forget about Republican votes and just pass a bill that’s more friendly to the left.

Pelosi and her lieutenants made no serious effort to pass the bill and merely want to use its failure against House Republicans in the upcoming election, writes Power Line’s John Hinderaker. Pelosi should resign, as she and other Democrats have adopted the partisanship and anger toward conservatives that’s emanating from liberal blogs, writes Townhall’s Carol Platt Liebau.

But Democrats were never going to overwhelmingly back the bailout, so it’s the House Republicans’ fault, writes Paul Krugman, who suggests that the country is now a “banana republic.” Another New York Times’ columnist, David Brooks, writes Tuesday that the House GOP listened to talk radio instead of reality, a suggestion that Kevin Drum agrees with. Drum goes further by declaring that the lunatics are now running the asylum.

The failure of the bailout, however, gives Democrats an opportunity to look at better solutions that would do more to help homeowners and provide a long-term solution to the mortgage mess, writes Daily Kos’s Meteor Blades. House Democrats, who have the votes to pass their own bill, should consider what it would take to get its more liberal members on board, writes Matthew Yglesias. But if Democrats want to pass a “left-wing, ACORN-heavy, union-proxies, salary-setting bill” to bailout Wall Street, they should go ahead, since that would ensure Republican victories in November, writes The Campaign Spot’s Jim Geraghty.

FROM THE BLOGS:
Pelosi Should Go – Carol Platt Liebau, Townhall.com
A Partisan Set-Up? – John Hinderaker, Power Line
Ultimate Blame Lies With Pelosi – Megan McArdle
McCain’s 3 A.M. Call – Don Surber
Brooks Is Unhappy With GOP – Kevin Drum
OK, We Are A Banana Republic – Paul Krugman
Bailout Defeat Offers Opportunity – Meteor Blades, Daily Kos
Dem Option – Big Tent Democrat, TalkLeft
The Solution – Matthew Yglesias
If Dems Want Their Own Bill… – J. Geraghty, Campaign Spot
Hopefully Bill Becomes More Conservative – Matt Lewis, Townhall

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
With Deal’s Collapse, McCain Camp Attacks – New York Times
‘No’ Votes Came From All Directions – Wall Street Journal
How The Numbers Failed the Leaders – Washington Post
The Bailout Implodes – The Hill