JOHNSTON COUNTY -- The Rev. John Butler Book wouldn't bet his bottom dollar on the success of the $700 billion economic bailout.

The reason, he said, is that the bailout contains no safeguards to prevent another financial crisis in the future. While dining at Suzie’s Diner in Smithfield, Book blamed “bleeding-heart liberals” for the economic downtown and said the only real solution would be a revolution in Washington.

“We need another Boston Tea Party, in the figurative sense, at the polls,” said Book, an evangelist who splits his time between homes in Four Oaks and Florida. “Liberals are the first bags we need to throw away.”

Book said the country was experiencing its current economic woes because the United States had “adopted a mentality of entitlement.” He said the government had been given too large a role in financial markets, and he likened the bailout of Wall Street to “a weasel being in charge of the chicken houses.”

“Lincoln had it right when he said that you can’t build the economy by spending more than you make,” Book said. “You can’t help the earner if you destroy the payer. And you can’t help the individual by doing for them what they should be doing for themselves.”

“People are already hurting,” Book said. “They see the price of gas at the pump and then start thinking about the cost of heating their homes. They don’t see a way to do all this and still be able to keep up with paying their mortgages. And yet now we’re going to bleed the taxpayer even more.”

Art Powell, a retiree from Smithfield, said he also had his doubts about the bailout plan. But he said the bailout was likely better than no action at all.

“We’ve got to have something in place to help get our economy going again,” Powell said while waiting at Magic Tunnel Car Wash. “The middle class are the ones who have been hurting the most while we’ve waited.”

Powell said the economic damage was already done, and in particular, he expressed gloom about the upcoming holidays.

“It will make a big difference for me this year with the economy being the way it is right now,” Powell said. “I’m definitely going to have to hold back some.”

Wayne Holt of McGee’s Crossroads echoed Powell’s sentiments. Holt said he and his wife had been forced this year to do away with their annual vacations. And Holt said he cut back on driving months ago amid skyrocketing gas prices.

“So now I’m just working as much as I can,” he said. “I’m just making it day to day, week to week. That’s all I can do.”

And with doubts and fears about the future, Holt said one big question loomed in his mind. If he had the chance, he’d love to ask it of politicians on Capitol Hill.

“How did we get here in the first place,” he wondered. “What did they do wrong?”