The House is scheduled to once again vote on the proposal on Friday; perhaps enough previously recalcitrant arms have been twisted, bent, fractured and, if that doesn't work, ripped straight off the shoulders to obtain a passage vote there, as well.

However, as more details of the rescue plan emerge, and as the world financial crisis deepens and spreads with each passing hour, serious questions have emerged as to whether even the plan's US$810 billion price tag will be enough to stave off the gathering darkness.