Follow the money on bailout votes

Theories abound about why the $700 billion financial bailout package crashed and burned in Congress.

Conservative Republicans opposed it on ideological grounds as big-government intervention starting the slippery slope to socialism. Liberal Democrats voted no to register disdain that average Americans were being asked to pay for the sins of Wall Street high rollers. President Bush no longer has the influence to get an unpopular measure through.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson didn't make the sale. House members in close races in November didn't want to risk the ire of voters. But could there be a simpler explanation for the narrowness of the 228-205 defeat - the power of money?

A nonpartisan watchdog group calculated that US House members who voted yes received 51 percent more in campaign contributions from the finance, insurance, and real estate sector in their congressional careers than those who opposed the emergency legislation.

The Center for Responsive Politics found that the gap was particularly noticeable among House Democrats. The 140 Democrats who voted yes have received an average of $792,744 over their careers from the financial sector and $188,572 in this election, while the 95 Democrats who voted against the bill have received an average of $420,686 over their careers and $105,878 this election.

FOON RHEE

Palin clarifies remark about her VP foe
Sarah Palin and Katie Couric are getting to be a daily act.

Last night, the Republican vice presidential nominee explained to the CBS anchorwoman a remark she made about looking forward to debating Democrat Joe Biden tomorrow night and emphasizing Biden's longevity.

"I've never met him before. But I've been hearing about his Senate speeches since I was in like second grade," Palin told a crowd in Ohio on Monday.

Backstage afterward, Couric asked: "You have a 72-year-old running mate. Is that kind of a risky thing to say, insinuating that Joe Biden's been around awhile?"

"Oh no, it's nothing negative at all," answered Palin, whose uneven performance during an interview with Couric last week was lampooned by Tina Fey on "Saturday Night Live."

"He's got a tremendous amount of experience and, you know, I'm the new energy, the new face, the new ideas," Palin said.

Also in the interview, Palin stood by her opposition to abortion, even in the "horrific circumstances" of rape and incest, saying she is "unapologetically prolife," though she said she does not foresee sending people to jail over the issue.

Palin also said that while she believes in God's hand in creation, she would not try to stop the teaching of evolution in public schools. And she said that she does not begrudge those who have made the "choice" to be gay, though many would dispute whether homosexuality is a choice. "I'm not going to judge people," she said.

FOON RHEE

More die in car crashes on election days
CHICAGO - Could voting for president be hazardous to your health?

An analysis of Election Day traffic deaths dating back to Jimmy Carter's 1976 win suggests yes, but the authors say that's no reason not to vote.

The study found that on average, 24 more people died in car crashes during voting hours on presidential election days than on other Tuesdays during October and November.

The results were pretty consistent on all eight presidential election days that were analyzed, up to George W. Bush's victory over John F. Kerry in 2004.

Rushing to get to polling places before or after work, driving on unfamiliar routes, and being distracted by thinking about the candidates were among possible reasons.

"This is one of the most off-the-wall things I've ever read, but the science is good," said Roy Lucke, senior scientist at Northwestern University's Center for Public Safety.

He was not involved in the study, which appears in today's Journal of the American Medical Association.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Palin chances would go up in a second McCain term
WASHINGTON - If John McCain is elected and goes on to win a second term, there's as much as a 1 in 4 chance America could see its first woman president - Sarah Palin.

It's actuarial math.

The odds highly favor either McCain, 72, or Barack Obama, 47, completing a first term in good health. After that, McCain's odds still are still fairly solid, but his chances of dying or being in poor health go up faster than Obama's due to his age.

ASSOCIATED PRESS