"You've got constituents out there that are angry about this deal on both sides," he added. "They don't believe anybody -- the leadership, the president, the secretary of the Treasury. They go on the Internet and find economists saying the situation isn't really a crisis, it's no big deal. That complicates it even further."
Strangely, perhaps, some House members on both sides said the pressure from their leaders for a yes vote was milder than they had expected.
There was "no whipping on my side of the floor," said Shays, who voted for the plan.
"Leadership did not go around and jam people," agreed Rep. Vernon J. Ehlers (R-Mich.), another yes vote.
Democrats said that as the number of "yes" votes faltered, Pelosi and other Democratic leaders began trying to rustle up more support.
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said Pelosi approached him to ask if he would reverse his vote.
"There wasn't any arm-twisting or anything like that," Thompson said. Pelosi could be tough, he said, but in this case "she wasn't."
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doyle.mcmanus@latimes.com
Times staff writers Janet Hook and Peter Wallsten contributed to this report.
