The Real Reason Behind the Failure of the Bailout Bill

Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:

Job Security

Many are blaming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi or Minority Leader John Boehner for the failure of the economic bailout bill, but the measure's defeat appears to have come down to public dissatisfaction with the plan and members of Congress who are fighting to save their jobs.

The Associated Press reports two-thirds of Congress' most vulnerable members — Republicans and Democrats alike — chose to vote against the unpopular bailout.

Republican Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin says, "We're all worried about losing our jobs. Most of us say, 'I want this thing to pass, but I want you to vote for it, not me.'"

The Politico newspaper reports that of the 205 members who did vote for the bill, only seven — four Democrats and three Republicans — are facing tough re-election campaigns.

Gentle Joe

Joe Biden's strategy going into Thursday's vice presidential debate with Sarah Palin might not be what you expect. The Politico reports one of the people preparing Biden for the head-to-head is telling the Delaware senator to go easy on Palin.

Biden's aide says, "If she makes a gaffe, he underplays it. At most, he says, 'I am not sure what Governor Palin meant there.'"

The aide also says Biden does not want to appear condescending. In keeping with that strategy, he also plans on referring to his rival as "Governor Palin" and never as "Sarah," although sometimes he will refer to Senator McCain as "John" because the two have worked together for many years.

The aide also predicts the media will pounce on any mistakes made by Palin, so Biden won't have to.

Mea Culpa

Democratic Congressman Alcee Hastings of Florida is apologizing for disparaging remarks he made last week about Palin. The Palm Beach Post reports Hastings said his words were "not smart and certainly not relevant to hunters or sportsmen."

Hastings was referring to his statement to the National Jewish Democratic Council last Wednesday, when he said, "Anybody toting guns and stripping moose don't care too much about what they do with Jews and blacks... if Sarah Palin isn't enough of a reason for you to get over whatever your problem is with Barack Obama, then you damn well had better pay attention."

Now he explains "the policies and priorities of a McCain-Palin administration would be anathema to most African-Americans and Jews."

Food for Thought?

A new global warming study says methane produced by sheep and cattle when they break wind generates more greenhouse gas than any other sector in food production.

So, a report by the University of Surrey's Food and Climate Research Network is calling on people to ration their consumption to just four small portions of meat and one liter of milk per week. That means cutting meat use by more than half.

It also recommends scaling back all animal-derived food consumption, especially what it calls "low nutritional value" foods such as sweets, chocolates and alcohol in order to cut greenhouse gases caused by their production.

— FOX News Channel's Zachary Kenworthy contributed to this report.