I Come to You, Cashmere Hat in Hand . . .

Hank Paulson, $1 trillion panhandler. (By Nikki Kahn -- The Washington Post)
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"The bottom line to me is: How do we make sure that the connection between Main Street and Wall Street is understood?" said Mike Crapo (R-Idaho).

Answered Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.): "While Wall Street caused the problems we face, unfortunately, if we do nothing, Main Street will also pay a severe price."

"I hope we can give Main Street a good bit more help and attention than we have to date," contributed Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio).

Paulson tried his hand at the Main Street game. "Even some Main Street non-financial institutions -- or, excuse me, some non-financial companies -- have trouble financing their normal business operations," he argued.

But mostly, the secretary stuck to his main point: that if Congress doesn't give him what he wants, and soon, the year will quickly become 1932. "There is a bipartisan consensus for an urgent legislative solution," he coaxed. "We need to build upon this spirit and enact this bill -- enact this bill quickly and cleanly and avoid slowing it down."

This was quite a turnabout for Paulson, who earlier this year had promised that "the markets are going to work." Despite what he modestly termed a "housing correction," he assured lawmakers: "I have confidence in our markets."

Given that track record, lawmakers weren't inclined to be bullied by Paulson's demands for haste. "Speed is important, but I'm far more interested in whether or not we get this right," said Chairman Chris Dodd (D-Conn.).

"I'm very concerned that the express need to pass something now may prevent us from devising a plan that would actually work," agreed Richard Shelby (Ala.), the committee's top Republican.

And Schumer was moved to invoke Greek mythology, using the imagery of sea monsters to analyze the situation. "As we look forward in the week ahead, we face both a Scylla and a Charybdis, dangers on both sides," the oracle of New York said. In Schumer's telling, the Scylla monster represented the danger of not acting. "But there is also the Charybdis, the other danger of acting so quickly that we choose a bad solution," he said.

The noted classicist had planned to ask a follow-up question later, but an appearance on CNBC kept him from returning to the hearing room in time.

"We really do have to go," Paulson advised the committee.

On Wall Street, the stock market resumed its plunge.