On 12-17-09, BOB KLAHN said to TIM RICHARDSON:



TR> G.W. Bush wasn't even on the political horizon when the
TR> groundwork was laid for the housing mortgage meltdown.


BK>Yet he bought into it big time. He had 8 years in office, the
BK>first 6 he could have done a lot to stop it, instead he
BK>contributed to it.


TR> The blame can be laid right at the feet of Chris
TR> Dodd......Barney Frank...et al.


BK>And you bought into the big lie from the right. Barney Frank
BK>opposed the Bush "Ownership Society" with everyone owning a
BK>home. He supported, the Home Financing Reform act of 2005, the
BK>one McCain claimed co-sponsorship so proudly in the 2008
BK>election campaign. Frank co-authored the house version with
BK>republican Michael Oxley of Ohio. Frank did oppose amendments
BK>that he felt compromised it, but it did pass the house. Oxley
BK>said, when Bush torpedoed it in the Senate, Bush gave us a one
BK>fingered salute.



How did Fannie and Freddie counter such efforts? They flooded Washington with
lobbying dollars, doled out tens of thousands in political contributions and
put offices in key congressional districts. Not surprisingly, these efforts
worked.


Leaders in Congress did not just balk at proposals to rein in Fannie and
Freddie. They mocked the proposals as unserious and unnecessary.


Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) said the following on Sept. 11, 2003: "We see
entities that are fundamentally sound financially. . . . And even if there
were a problem, the federal government doesn't bail them out."
Sen. Thomas Carper (D-Del.), later that year: "If it ain't broke, don't fix
it."


As recently as last summer, when housing prices had clearly peaked and the
mortgage market had started to seize up, Dodd called on Bush to "immediately
reconsider his ill-advised" reform proposals. Frank, now chairman of the House
Financial Services Committee, said that the president's suggestion for a
strong, independent regulator of Fannie and Freddie was "inane."


Sen. Dodd wonders what the Bush administration did to address the risks of
Fannie and Freddie. Now, he knows. The real question is: Where was he?


Al Hubbard was director of the National Economic Council and assistant to the
president from 2005 to 2007.


Noam Neusner was a speechwriter and communications director in the Bush
administration from 2002 to 2005.




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*Durango b301 #PE*