A must-read editorial from The Wall Street Journal on the failure of the Democratic-controlled Congress to pass the bailout plan.

From the editorial:

The 228-205 defeat reflects badly on all concerned, starting with the Democrats who run the House. The majority party is responsible for assembling a majority vote, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi failed in that fundamental task.

Her highly partisan speech on the floor -- blaming "right-wing ideology of anything goes, no supervision, no discipline, no regulation" for the financial distress -- is no excuse for Republicans to vote no. But it is indicative of the way she has governed for the past two years -- like Tom DeLay without the charm. The cynics are saying Ms. Pelosi deliberately tanked the bill by giving 95 Democrats a pass, knowing failure would hurt John McCain, and given her track record we can see why people would believe it.

Read the full editorial, "The Beltway Crash" at the newspaper's Web site.

And don't forget you have a choice about Congress on Nov. 4: Change or more of the same.