Republican buddies? Bush must be asking: 'What Republican buddies?'

From the perspective of the White House, today is akin to the moment — well, the months — when it was established without question that there were no WMDs in Iraq at the time of the U.S. invasion.

It doesn't get much bleaker than this. But is there a connection between the president's defeat in the House of Representatives this afternoon and the Iraq war?

The president pulled out all the stops — on both:

His rhetoric left no doubt that the country was in crisis. As the economic crisis worsened, just as he did with the Iraq war, he threw a prime-time televised address at the nation. Today, he made a last-minute early morning appeal for support.

He didn't shy from using the word "crisis." He worked the phones up until the vote, putting his prestige on the line.

He said:

This rescue plan — along with other measures taken by the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve — will begin to restore strength and stability to America's financial system and overall economy.

And his Republican allies in the House? What Republican allies?

Their 2-to-1 rejection of the $700-billion bailout bill was ...

... a rejection of his solution, but also of his leadership. It was as clear a statement as possible that his quiver was empty with 3 1/2 months remaining in his presidency.

He has little ammunition to use to protect House members who voted for the bailout plan out of loyalty; he can't help them fend off angry voters.

To be sure, the president has managed to keep some strong Republican support for the war.

But as the economic debate rolled across the country and onto the floor of the House, some critics returned to the subject of the war, and the president's argument that Saddam Hussein's weapons program put the world at risk.

In both cases, it came down to the president's credibility.

— James Gerstenzang

Photo: President Bush finishes speaking to reporters before today's House vote. Credit: Charles Dharapak / Associated Press