For Many Americans, Fear and Distrust Run High

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Reactions: House Rejects Bailout

Just across the river from Capitol Hill, reactions varied as news of the bailout bill failure hit Arlington.

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Sitting on a bench in front of the courthouse in Annapolis, Samuel Caldwell, 51, a parole agent for the state of Maryland, rubbed his hand across his forehead, contemplating what he said would be a massive economic headache about to hit the nation.

"Look, it's an election year. These folks in Congress know they're being scrutinized, being held to a higher standard. That's why it didn't pass. There's a fear of the unknown here. They still don't know what happened to the markets and what's going to happen to them. So no one wants to make a wrong move," Caldwell said.

Uncertainty is a kind of distrust of its own: Consumers do not know what will happen to the economy, to housing values, to loan rates. Home mortgage applications are down not only because credit is tightening but also because potential buyers are wary of taking a leap at a time like this.

That is the case with Sonya Shooshan, 51, an information research specialist at the National Library of Medicine who has been shopping for a house in Montgomery County. But she is worried about the chaos in Washington, and she is hesitant to buy right now.

"I'm skittish," she said. "God forbid if the economy falls off the cliff, I might be going out to my friends in the Shenandoah Valley and living off their farm and growing vegetables and raising chickens. Could it really get that bad?"

Two funeral directors -- Greg Houston, 45, and Clint Oxendine, 39 -- mulled over the bailout yesterday in the parking lot of a Wachovia bank in Manassas.

"These bankers should be liable," Houston said. "They made a lot of money off poor people, and it was just greed."

Said Oxendine: "Why should we pay for these bad decisions?"

He tried to put the best possible face on the economic downturn: "I don't think it'll be as bad as the Great Depression."

But Houston said he is bracing for tougher economic times -- and leaner funerals.

Surdin reported from Los Angeles. Staff writers Nick Miroff, Nikita Stewart, Paul Schwartzman and William Wan in the Washington area, Peter Slevin in Chicago, and Robin Shulman in New York contributed to this report.