Presidential nominee John McCain is lagging in key polls. Party officials are bracing for likely losses of House and Senate seats, which would put them even deeper into minority status. And the economy, on which voters trust Democrats more than Republicans, is by far the top campaign issue.

But nothing has exposed the depth of the party's problems and disarray more than this week's House rejection of a massive financial rescue bill, which was backed by McCain, GOP congressional leaders and, most forcefully, President Bush, still the party's titular head.

Two-thirds of the House's 199 Republicans voted against it. That is a remarkable revolt against any party's establishment.

To top it off, McCain, the GOP standard-bearer this fall, took a fresh shot at his party Thursday, focusing on pork barrel spending.

"There's a handful of us that have been fighting and warning that this could be incredibly harmful to the Republican Party," he told MSNBC. "We came to power in '94 to change Washington, and Washington changed us."

Events are trending against Republicans on many fronts. McCain has abandoned efforts to carry Michigan, once a top target. Several key Senate races, including those in Oregon and North Carolina, show Democratic challengers making strong gains against GOP incumbents.

Just as Democrats are often split between their hard-core liberal base and less dogmatic members, so Republicans must always balance their hard-right devotees and their more moderate voters. Sometimes the divisions are worse than others.

This year, the Republican rift is severe, but it is playing out more dramatically in Congress than in the presidential race, where McCain has done a reasonably good job of keeping staunch conservatives from bolting.

In Congress, and especially in the House, hard-charging conservative Republicans seem beyond the reach of their president, their own chosen leaders and their presidential nominee. With their constituents' phone calls running overwhelmingly against the $700 billion rescue package, they seem almost offended by calls for a pragmatic, swallow-your-medicine solution to the economic crisis.

Bush used a rare prime-time TV address last week to plead for passage of the financial plan in dire terms. "Our entire economy is in danger," he said. "America could slip into a financial panic."

It had virtually no effect. The latest Washington Post-ABC News poll found Bush's approval rating at its lowest point ever, 26 percent.

House Republican leaders can salvage some of their pride if at least 12 lawmakers who voted no on Monday switch to yes in a showdown vote on a revised version of the financial package, scheduled for today.

Even if that happens, however, the recipe will prove distasteful to many Republicans. Senate Democrats largely shaped the revised legislation. Worse, it is designed essentially to buy specific House members' votes, with billions of dollars worth of tax cuts and other sweeteners aimed at lawmakers or groups who might switch.

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