Fed's bailout plan met with skepticism out West

HELENA, Montana (CNN) -- Suzanne Studer is patient and polite, her greeting constant: "Congressman Denny Rehberg's office, Suzanne speaking .."

To spend an hour with her on Wednesday was to understand firsthand why consensus in the Congress is proving hard to come by, and why President Bush felt compelled to address the nation in a prime time effort to sell the administration's $700 billion financial rescue package.

"Absolutely not on the bailout," Studer repeated as she took notes on one call.

"Protest on the bailout, OK," as she took another.

"You are calling to protest -- well you know I have heard a lot of those so let me just get this written down," she says politely to yet another frustrated constituent.

Studer has worked in the office two years now and says she has never experienced anything like the flood of calls in recent days, and not a one in support of the package.

"I got one, '[I'll] think about it,' " she told us.

Montana's two senators report similar calls, e-mails, faxes and in some cases walk-in complaints from constituents who don't trust what they are hearing from Washington, and increasingly worry they will get stuck with the bill but not share in any economic benefits.

Montana's Democratic governor, Brian Schweitzer, calls it a classic case of Washington disconnect from the real world, and says he meets skeptic after skeptic as he works and travels the state campaigning for re-election himself.

"They say, 'My God, this looks like a condition where the powerful are going to give money to the rich. What's new?' " Schweitzer told CNN in an interview at a ranch on the outskirts of Helena.

"People say, 'Now wait a minute -- my stock has gone down -- I lost 15 or 20 percent.' I had one guy walk up to me and say, 'I invested in Fannie Mae. My value is down to zero and they are going to bail out the big banks -- what gives here?' "

As Congress works on the plan, lawmakers say they are adding protections for taxpayers, like an oversight board and provisions designed to make sure the government gets most if not all of the money back if and when financial conditions -- especially in the housing market -- improve.

But it is clear in travels this week, especially here in Montana, that most Americans, as uneasy as they may be about the economy, don't have a lot of faith in the politicians promising to fix things.

"Not believable," Schweitzer says when asked about the case by Bush and others that the package needs to be approved this week to avoid dire results. He says Congress needs to take its time and "ask a few questions."

And he says if the plan is going to be palatable to people out here, it has to pass a clear test: "If we are going to bail these coyotes out, then why wouldn't we have an equity position? Why wouldn't the taxpayer make a little money if they do turn around instead of just shoving that money out the door and have them pay themselves big golden parachutes?

"I think we need a Congress that stands up and asks the tough questions and says, 'Look, it might take us a couple extra days to get this done.' "

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