Opinion: Mingling in the aisles of Congress, before the president arrives

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

5:45 p.m.: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stands at the front of the House of Representatives, flanked by Vice President Joe Biden.

They chat and smile as legislators mix and mingle in the aisles.

No one is sitting down yet, and all seem fairly jovial, despite the fact that President Obama is about to deliver a speech that tries to be optimistic while chastising those who have gotten us into this mess, which pretty much includes everybody: CEOs, Wall Street, homeowners who borrowed more than they could reasonably expect to afford, lenders who wrote irresponsible mortgages.

This is, Obama will say, a ‘day of reckoning.’

--Robin Abcarian

Register here for Twitter alerts on each new politics Ticket item. RSS feeds are available over here. And we’re now on Kindle as well.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Joe Biden await the arrival of President Obama February 24, 2009).

,