House members who supported the bailout package yesterday received a combined 51 percent more in campaign donations from the financial sector than those who opposed the plan, according to an analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics.

Neither John McCain, nor Barack Obama could claim they exercised leadership on the bailout plan, whose rejection by rank-and-file lawmakers yesterday drove markets to historic lows.

A sign in Paul Newman’s Westport Conn. offices famously read: “If I had a plan, I would be screwed.”

A German citizen who calls himself Clark Rockefeller has pleaded not guilty to kidnapping his 7-year-old daughter off a Boston street in July, in the latest chapter of a story involving aliases, international intrigue and a missing couple.

FDIC Chair Sheila C. Bair has overseen another shot-gun wedding – this time between Wachovia Corporation and Citigroup.

Barney Frank deserves a starring role in the docudrama about the week that shook and maybe saved Wall Street.

Using expert consultants is common in business and government. SEC Inspector General David Kotz used one in his report that slams the agency for missing numerous red flags that foreshadowed the collapse of Bear Stearns.

In a lengthy piece today, The New York Times details John McCain’s extensive connections to the casino industry and Indian gaming.

Actor Paul Newman died yesterday of cancer. He was 83.

Author and FDIC chair Sheila Bair has little free time these days to write children’s books.

Lobbying firm Davis Manafort was the top search term on Muckety last week.

The vultures are already circling. Rudy Giuliani is positioning his international law firm to get a stake in the proposed $700-billion bailout of Wall Street.

When the going gets tough, the rich go to auction. Kathy Fuld, wife of Lehman CEO Richard Fuld, is unloading a $20 million set of drawings at a November sale.

David Bonderman and Alan Fishman got a big surprise yesterday from the federal government.

Pfotenhauer honed her skills as a conservative poster-girl by working her way up through the trenches – apprenticing herself as a young, graduate student to conservative economic star Walter E. Williams at George Mason University, working for the Republican National Committee, and then learning political hardball as in-house lobbyist for Koch Industries, the world’s largest private company run by conservative mogul Charles G. Koch.

William H. Gross, the billionaire “King of Bonds,” has never been reluctant to give advice.

NBC reporter Andrea Mitchell is taking some heat for her reporting on the unfolding financial crisis.

The swift boats are sailing again. But they may be traveling on smaller waters.

Celebrities Stephen Spielberg, Kate Capshaw and Brad Pitt are throwing their weight behind efforts to stop Proposition 8, the proposed amendment to again ban same-sex marriage in California.

Warren Buffett, who generally knows a deal when he sees one, announced yesterday that his company, Berkshire Hathaway, would invest $5 billion in beleaguered Goldman Sachs.