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The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), a key group of House Democrats that had been split over the Wall Street package that failed in the House Monday, swung in favor of the package today, as the caucus largely changed its stance and voted in favor of a newer version of the package.

After CBC members were split evenly Monday on whether or not to spend billions to assist collapsing Wall Street firms, 12 of the CBC's 38 voting members switched their votes to "yes" today as the updated, Senate-passed version of the bill soared through the House by a margin of 263-171.

One of those switched votes--and perhaps the most significant--was cast by CBC Chairwoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D-Mich.), who reportedly had an icy exchange with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on the House floor Monday as the first Wall Street vote approached. Read more...

It's just 31 days until the country picks a new president, but everyone, including one Barack Obama campaign staffer, has been focused Friday on the bailout vote.

The Hill's Jim Mills bumped into Phil Schiliro, the Obama campaign's congressional liaison, on Capitol Hill. Here's Mills's exchange with Schiliro, a former chief of staff for Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.):

Mills: "Hey.. What you doing back here?... Thought you were on the campaign trail."

Schiliro: "This is the campaign trail!"

Obama himself has gotten into the bailout mix. His calls to Democratic House members resulted in a few more votes for the rescue package, The Hill's Jared Allen reports.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped slightly as traders watched the House of Representatives vote on the Wall Street package that will, if signed by President Bush, grant the Treasury secretary authority to spend billions of dollars purchasing toxic assets from collapsing financial firms.

In the last 14 minutes of the 19-minute vote, the Dow dipped 24 points, from 10739.63 with 14 minutes to go to 10715.63 as the vote was gaveled closed, according to quotes from CNNMoney.com.

The House of Representatives approved the $700 billion assistance legislation for the U.S. financial industry Friday, reversing course after its Monday vote spiking the bill.

263 members voted to approve the bill, while 171 voted against concurring with the Senate's version of the bill, which the upper chamber approved Wednesday.

The Senate had added various provisions including tax rebates for special projects in hopes of drawing more House members on board after Monday

House members broke out into applause when the number of yes votes for the bailout package reached 218, the number that guarantees passage.

It came at 1:23 p.m., which is 15 minutes after the vote opened. There are still a handful of members who haven't voted, but the number of votes backing the bailout appears to be heading north of 250.

The House is voting right now on the bailout package.

The bill passes if there are more "yes" votes than "no" votes. Supporters of the package are looking to get 218 votes, which would be a majority of members and would thus guarantee passage.

Voting began at approximately 1:08 p.m. On Monday, when the bailout bill failed, the vote was held open for approximately 40 minutes, as leaders on both sides tried to get opponents of the bill to switch their votes.

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said it was lawmakers' responsibility to address the economic crisis.

"Above the speaker's rostrum is our motto, 'In God We Trust.' Probably one of the most serious votes that any of us will ever cast. I sent my prayers this morning, like I do every morning. So that I can understand and feel better about the votes that I cast. But even if we pass this bill today, let's not kid ourselves. We're in the midst of a recedssion. It's going to be a rough ride. But it'll be a whole lot rougher ride if we don't pass this bill."

He added:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), accused Monday by House Republicans of giving a partisan speech, sounded a less partisan tone in her floor address Friday.

"In a bipartisan way, we rejected that proposal," Pelosi said.

She then listed the ways in which she thought the bill has been improved since it was first proposed. She noted provisions allowing the government to try to recoup any losses in five years and limits on executive compensation.

She also reached out to centrist Blue Dog Democrats, who have railed against deficit spending and said they were disappointed in tax incentives included in the package that don't come with offsets.

"No new deficit spending must be our mantra," she said.

On Monday, after the bailout bill failed, House Republicans said in a news conference that as many as a dozen Republicans were ready to vote for the measure until Pelosi gave her speech.

It is essential for the House of Representatives to successfully pass Friday

Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) has turned to a classic congressional tactic as he manages the floor debate over the bailout bill.

He's had Democratic colleagues bring up their concerns about the bill in their floor speeches. The skeptical members then yield to Frank, who addresses their concerns before yielding back. At that point, the members have said they support the bill.

Rep. Donna Edwards (D-Md.), who opposed the bill Monday, asked whether the measure would give the Treasury Department the power to deal directly with homeowners facing foreclosure.

Frank answered: "Absolutely."

Edwards then said she'd vote for the bill.

When Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) asked Frank whether it would help carmakers, Frank again answered in the affirmative.

Frank's approach is reminiscent of one used by another Democratic leader during an important debate. Lyndon Johnson, as Senate Majority Leader in 1957, staged a similar question-and-answer session during a floor debate over a civil rights bill. It served as a way to help persuade senators watching the floor debate to back the controversial measure. Johnson's ploy was famously recounted by Robert Caro in his book, "Master of the Senate."