A lame-duck president, a White House hopeful slipping in the polls, a targeted Kentucky senator and a House member looking over his shoulder have all taken the wheel of the Republican bus driving the beleaguered bailout toward passage.

But lawmakers, aides and lobbyists say certain GOP leaders have taken more of a leading role than others.
With the Republican Party in a state of transition, President Bush, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) have embraced the need for a bailout bill. But the stakes are very different for all four men, with Bush eyeing his legacy, McCain seeking to buck historical trends and win the presidency, McConnell fending off a spirited electoral challenge and Boehner working to keep his leadership position.

The lobbyist put Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s involvement at 30 percent, McConnell’s at 25 percent, House GOP leaders’ at 40 percent, and McCain’s at 5 percent.

Bush appointed Paulson as his point man in the negotiations, but his role in changing votes on controversial legislation has diminished significantly in recent years.

Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.) said, “The president doesn’t have a lot of credibility with us.”

Asked whether the president played a role in persuading skeptical members to support the bailout, Hoekstra said, “Who?”

Many House Republican members have lambasted Paulson for how he handled the bailout, criticizing him for demanding that Congress quickly rubberstamp his rescue plan.

Throughout most of his first term, Bush was an effective lobbyist, persuading Republican members to back controversial legislation on his domestic agenda. In November 2003, Bush — working with then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) — leaned on House GOP lawmakers to back the largest expansion of Medicare since its creation.

The cracks emerged soon after Bush was reelected, as he and Vice President Cheney struggled to convince Republican members to back the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) in the summer of 2005.

While the bill narrowly passed, it was an early indication that some Republicans were no longer going to get in line when the White House lobbying machine kicked into high gear. Following the passage of CAFTA, congressional Republicans and Bush clashed on the need for comprehensive immigration reform.

Meanwhile, Bush’s Social Security reform proposal didn’t even get a committee vote in the House or Senate.

His tax reform plan likewise went nowhere.

The Democratic takeover of Congress amid the public’s souring opinion of the Iraq war has hurt Bush’s ability to will his agenda through the House and Senate. While Bush has won major battles with the Democratic Congress on budget issues — specifically on the Iraq war — he has experienced many legislative defeats over the last couple of years.

Rep. John Peterson (R-Pa.), who voted for the bailout on Monday, said he thought Bush “had a lot of fear in his eyes” when he addressed the nation last week.

Peterson said, “You don’t want to spook the public when the markets are involved.”

Asked for comment for this article, White House spokesman Tony Fratto said, “We appreciate everyone’s leadership in getting the legislation to this point.”

Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C), who has regularly bucked Bush, said House Republicans are taking a much different approach when taking calls from the White House.