Farrell: A Plan B for the Economy

Hank Paulson needs to go to a Dale Carnegie sales course. Half of you probably never heard of that but he needs to go to some sort of sales seminar to learn how to sell a program and not try to ram it down people's throats.

It clearly wasn't enough to say this isn't a bailout of Wall Street. It is a bailout of Wall Street. It also is, however, a bailout of Main Street, but of problems caused in large part by Wall Street. The American voter cannot be railroaded. Constituent mail was running overwhelmingly against the program. A deft, sensitive touch was needed and "The Hammer" Paulson, the Treasury secretary, for all his brilliance, didn't pull it off.

The administration needs to realize it can't risk another defeat. It needs to line up the few votes needed in advance. To get a few Republican votes, it needs to pull out all the lobbying stops it can. Outfits like the Chamber of Commerce have to get on the phone. ...