Congress in a Bind Over the Bailout

"If I didn't think the government was going to act, I would not be doing anything this week. I might be trying to undo things this week," Buffett said on CNBC Wednesday morning, explaining the timing and rationale for Berkshire Hathaway's (BRK.A Quote) $5 billion investment in Goldman Sachs(GS Quote). "I am, to some extent, betting on the fact that the government will do the rational thing here and act promptly."

Several lawmakers indicated that Paulson, Bernanke and Wall Street firms were foolhardy to think they could waltz over to Capitol Hill and receive a giant blank check to buy banks' troubled assets at their discretion. (One Texas lawmaker asserted on Tuesday that Congress wouldn't "move overnight," adding that the "idea that we would approve this $700 billion bailout today or tomorrow is injudicious.")

But according to several experts, that type of talk is simply jawboning. Congress is putting on a show for constituents, they say, to prove that members will not simply rubber-stamp yet another costly, bad idea. While most agree that the plan has merit to stabilize the markets, and ultimately help the average American, it has few tangible benefits to public that can be simply explained.

"They need to do something fast, but they also need to balance public perception of what they're doing," says Paul Larson, equities strategist and editor of Morningstar's StockInvestor. "The public may not necessarily like the bailout plan, and therefore Congress doesn't want to act immediately because it will seem like they're just going along with the Bush administration, which is very unpopular right now."