Looking back, the titans of Capitol Hill admitted that one of their biggest mistakes over the US’s proposed $700bn bailout was an elementary one: they failed to count the votes.

When on Monday the package was voted down by 228 votes to 205 in the House of Representatives, it came as a surprise to Nancy Pelosi, House Speaker, and her Republican counterparts. Unclear about how the votes lined up and undeterred by a debate in which speech after speech criticised the measure, they pressed ahead and called a vote they hoped would reassure financial markets.