A Deal . . . On Ice

DELICATE, TENTATIVE BAILOUT DEAL REACHED

Gov't To Pump $700 Billion Into Cash-Strapped Financial Firms

Not all At Once, Money Would Be Phased In, Limits on Executive Pay Included

House Could Vote Monday, Senate on Wednesday

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Rep. Roy Blunt: "We need to look and see where we are on paper tomorrow." Blunt said his colleagues wanted to "bring both free-market principles and taxpayer protections to the table." "I think we will be able to have an announcement'' later today, Blunt said.

BUT Some Rank-and-file Republicans announce opposition

From THE HILL:

"House GOP Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) helped negotiate the deal and issued a side-by-side comparison that showed the tentative deal, the original proposal from Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and provisions Democrats had demanded. That was supposed to show the gains House GOP leaders had won, and soothe their roiling conference. Early indications are that the effort has not been entirely successful."

ALSO, Newt Gingrich on ABC's This Week:

"Something has to be done, the question is whether it has to be this, and whether it has to be over the next 48 hours. The fact is, we're about to buy 20 years of bureaucracy and expenditure and centralization of power in Washington in order to get through two weeks. Historically, that's dangerous."