No is not an answer. Not when Wall Street is teetering on the brink. Not when the credit market is about to collapse. Not when jobs, homes and retirement savings hang in the balance.

Americans know how the nation got here. Eight years of hands-off business policies from the White House. Predatory lenders consumed by greed. Too much bundling, too many sell-offs and not enough stability in financial institutions. Add to that countless lives lived on easy credit for too long, and the United States finds itself on a frightening precipice.

For the last two weeks the debate has been over how to head off the crisis when each new day brings the collapse or consumption of another financial heavyweight (yesterday's was Wachovia). Too late, President Bush and his Republican administration learned the government has a role to play in maintaining an even keel. Too few were the votes from his own party members for the $700 billion bailout that would be funded by the taxpayers.

Amid high drama and grave uncertainty, the House of Representatives voted 228-205 yesterday to reject the Bush bailout. The Dow greeted the action with a 778-point plunge. Republican opposition ran 2-1, including the nay votes of Reps. Tim Murphy of Upper St. Clair and Phil English of Erie. Democrats were not universally helpful either, despite major improvements in the plan; Rep. Jason Altmire of McCandless was one who refused to go along.

That's not good enough -- even if you're facing re-election. If not this remedy, then what?

The test for the president is securing many more Republican allies. The test for Congress is finding both a package that saves the economy and the courage to vote for it.