Last week, President Bush pressed the House and Senate to reach a speedy agreement on a prescription-drug subsidy for seniors. "Now is the time to finish the work," he said. One deadline for crafting a deal by mid-October was missed, and there are only three weeks left before Congress leaves for Thanksgiving, which had been the target date for completing all legislative business this year. Failure to pass a prescription-drug bill would be political bad news for Republicans, who control both houses of Congress and the White House.