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| Associated Press Shifts the BlameThat whole mortgage meltdown? It's all Bush's fault.WASHINGTON - The Bush administration backed off proposed crackdowns on no-money-down, interest-only mortgages years before the economy collapsed, buckling to pressure from some of the same banks that have now failed. It ignored remarkably prescient warnings that foretold the financial meltdown, according to an Associated Press review of regulatory documents.The article doesn't mention Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, or the Community Reinvestment Act. It blames the crisis on lack of government regulation and too much trust in "market forces." As Investor's Business Daily points out, it wasn't the Bush administration who opposed such regulation. In 2003, Bush's Treasury secretary, John Snow, proposed what the New York Times called "the most significant regulatory overhaul in the housing finance industry since the savings and loan crisis a decade ago." Did Democrats in Congress welcome it? Hardly. "I do not think we are facing any kind of a crisis," declared Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., in a response typical of those who viewed Fannie and Freddie as a party patronage machine that the GOP was trying to dismantle. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," added Sen. Thomas Carper, D-Del.It seems the media is not content to simply cover for the Democrats for their role in causing this crisis - they've got to find a way to completely blame George W. Bush even if that means rewriting history. After all, honest reporting would muddle the future headlines singing praise to the Lightworker for solving the crisis those evil, capitalism-loving Republicans left behind. Memo to the Associated Press: die faster, please. Comments1
Everything is George Bush's fault. Everything. The mortgage meltdown. The Mumbai terrorist attacks. Global warming. Joe Biden's hair plugs.. Continental drift.
Posted by: MDH3 at December 02, 2008 10:12 AM (4u+LN) 2
More fact-free reporting from the AP.
Posted by: Larsen E. Whipsnade at December 02, 2008 10:14 AM (6BgmB) 3
Everything will be Bush's fault in the next 4-8 years as well. After all the AP has Democrats to get elected and Bush-hatred sure is a wonderful tool for that isn't it?
Posted by: kefka at December 02, 2008 10:14 AM (fKivs) 4
This is nothing new. The Dems ran against Hoover for 50 years. The truth about FDR's disasterous policies were, and still are, covered up by the press. We're in for a repeat of the 30's with years of boneheaded liberal attempts to "control" the market while the press covers for thier sorry asses. All the while they'll blame, blame, blame someone else.
Posted by: Toad at December 02, 2008 10:15 AM (kOQDM) 5
I don't see a problem with this analysis
Posted by: John McCain at December 02, 2008 10:16 AM (zl17B) 6
The AP (American Pravda) can't die fast enough. Posted by: TheQuietMan at December 02, 2008 10:17 AM (1Jaio) 7
It happened on his watch. Does the buck only stop there if its a good thing?
Posted by: Hoosierbrad at December 02, 2008 10:19 AM (y/JJL) 8
Well played, AP. Well played, indeed.
Posted by: Pravda/Izvestia, CCCP at December 02, 2008 10:20 AM (WsTw8) 9
It happened on his watch. Does the buck only stop there if its a good thing?
Ah, "on his watch." Such a wonderfully weaselly and simplistic analysis. Posted by: Slublog at December 02, 2008 10:21 AM (R8+nJ) 10
This visual guide http://tinyurl.com/6brx6l really explains what happened and includes lots of comments by Barney and friends.
Posted by: garetjax at December 02, 2008 10:22 AM (iH8I8) 11
Pearl Harbor/WW2 happened on 'FDR's Watch' Does the buck only stop there if its a good thing?
Posted by: Ryan Frank at December 02, 2008 10:24 AM (/qCov) 12
And the Repubs who were in the majority in Congress for over 8 years before 2006 bear no part of the blame? Both parties and members thereof bear the blame; and so do we, for voting the scumbags into office.
Posted by: Hoosierbrad at December 02, 2008 10:25 AM (y/JJL) 13
It's amazing how they don't even try to hide their bias anymore - Obama's kind eyes and warm smile have been an inspiration to them all. Yes, die faster, please. Hey, isn't the mountain of New York Times debt that they can't possibly pay coming due in May? Posted by: Doodad Pro at December 02, 2008 10:27 AM (zYagu) 14
Everything is George Bush's fault. Everything. The mortgage meltdown. The Mumbai terrorist attacks. Global warming. Joe Biden's hair plugs.. Continental drift....The demise of the AP. Any chance on hearings in Congress to break up AP as a monopoly? Posted by: David Axelrod at December 02, 2008 10:27 AM (T0NGe) 15
To Ryan Frank:
Actually, FDR is, to a large degree, responsible DIRECTLY for Pearl Harbor. It was his embargo of oil to Japan which led them to wage their war of aggression to insure a source of oil for their country. Posted by: Hoosierbrad at December 02, 2008 10:29 AM (y/JJL) 16
And the Repubs who were in the majority in Congress for over 8 years
before 2006 bear no part of the blame? Both parties and members
thereof bear the blame; and so do we, for voting the scumbags into
office.
Of course they do. But not all of it, as the AP article implies. As the IBD editorial states, Congress actually bears most of the blame for this - the Bush administration warned about it for years. So yes, Bush should have used a little more political capital to push reform, but simply saying it's his fault because it happened 'on his watch.' is silly. Posted by: Slublog at December 02, 2008 10:30 AM (R8+nJ) 17
Slublog, it is also silly to try to reason someone out of a position they never reasoned themselves into.
Posted by: sherlock at December 02, 2008 10:33 AM (xqzGc) 18
#13 Yes. But they will apply and receive a bailout.
Posted by: Winston at December 02, 2008 10:38 AM (FggW0) 19
Time to dig up that NYT article about all the radical changes Bush wanted to do in 2003, to reform Freddie/Fannie.
Posted by: EC at December 02, 2008 10:39 AM (mAhn3) 20
Actually, FDR is, to a large degree, responsible DIRECTLY for Pearl
Harbor. It was his embargo of oil to Japan which led them to wage
their war of aggression to insure a source of oil for their country.
Horse hockey. The Japanese were rapidly expanding their empire throughout the Pacific and sooner or later would have butted up against American interests, with or without FDR's oil embargo. Posted by: OregonMuse at December 02, 2008 10:41 AM (FO+YO) 21
As the IBD editorial states, Congress actually bears most of the blame
for this - the Bush administration warned about it for years.
That's the problem with this one. It's not just "Bush is responsible for rainy days." He actively lobbied for reform and regulation. It is the fault of the people in charge now. Any imbecile can tell that. Posted by: AmishDude at December 02, 2008 10:42 AM (T0NGe) 22
Actually, FDR is, to a large degree, responsible DIRECTLY for Pearl Harbor. It was his embargo of oil to Japan which led them to wage their war of aggression to insure a source of oil for their country. Yeah we embargoed Japan because we were bored. No other reason. Posted by: polynikes at December 02, 2008 10:43 AM (m2CN7) 23
Is anyone surprised by this article? The media, ALL of them, have now been subverted to the communists. You can not believe ANYTHING they tell you now. Posted by: Vic at December 02, 2008 10:44 AM (Qd7GC) 24
You are all forgetting one simple fact. When this regulation was proposed to Congress in 2003, the Democrats were in the minority. When the law was adopted, the Democrats were in the minority. Granted the Democrats dropped the ball in 2007 and 2008, the only years they had a majority in either House since 1996, but the party in power when the regulatory legislation was adopted was the Republican Party. They are the ones who therefore allowed it to be weakened to the point of ineffectiveness, at which time Bush signed it into law.
Posted by: Hoosierbrad at December 02, 2008 10:44 AM (y/JJL) 25
Speaking of news sources... Does anyone have a link to a decent newspaper? I mean one that is good? Is it the Washington Times? Is there a newspaper like blog that does not refer to other papers like Drudge/Hot Air does? I am a moron that wants some pablum spoon fed to me dammit! I would like it to taste "right" too!
Posted by: catman at December 02, 2008 10:47 AM (NYdB8) 26
Memo to the Associated Press:
"September 11, 2003. New York Times. Overhaul. Fannie." GOOGLE IT. Then run the correction. Oceania has always been at war with Eastasia. Thanks for nothing. Posted by: Good Lt at December 02, 2008 10:48 AM (/OlW8) 27
You are all forgetting one simple fact. When this regulation was proposed to Congress in 2003, the Democrats were in the minority. 2001-2003 - 50-50 2003-2005 51-48-1 The minority combined with the usual Republican suspects was enough to stop just about anything. Posted by: polynikes at December 02, 2008 10:50 AM (m2CN7) 28
This is so Orwellian to the depths of revision, spiking, and completely rewriting of events, without shame, is amazing.
And yet the MSM is pushing for the Fairness Doctrine Posted by: eddiebear at December 02, 2008 10:55 AM (wnU1W) 29
When this regulation was proposed to Congress in 2003, the Democrats were in the minority.
Hearings were held and they race-bated. There are plenty of youtube videos about this. And it's combined with the fact that polynikes points out that the Senate "majority" was anything but. Posted by: AmishDude at December 02, 2008 10:56 AM (T0NGe) Posted by: Good Lt at December 02, 2008 10:57 AM (/OlW8) 31
HoosierBrad -
The point you're missing is that after the 2000 election, when the senate was 51-49, the Dems got Jumpin' Jim Jeffords to go Independent and caucus with them. Then Reid managed to twist Lott's arm into a "power-sharing" arrangement that say the Democrats get control of a bunch of committees - including Banking and Finance (Chris Dodd (D-CT)). All reform attempts died in committee. The senate "Majority" that the Republicans had was a myth. From 2000 onward, there was an implied 60-vote minimum required for anything to go through since the Democrats simply filibustered everything they didn't like and told the Republicans to go piss up a rope. Posted by: brian at December 02, 2008 11:05 AM (aLMAl) 32
Trying to spin this as a Bush / Republican disaster is not only a blatant lie, it makes absolutely no sense.
Are we now supposed to believe Republicans and Bush would promote policies to help poor, inner city folks and illegal immigrants get non-recourse, free money guaranteed by the federal government to buy homes they can not afford and shouldn't otherwise? Posted by: FreakyBoy at December 02, 2008 11:05 AM (4s1it) 33
FDR is, to a large degree, responsible DIRECTLY for Pearl Harbor.
Because such an attack would surely change our minds about giving them oil, right? Because it would have been morally justifiable to do so allowing them to continue their rapacious expansion and enslavement of millions, right? Posted by: Purple Avenger at December 02, 2008 11:06 AM (CwzFE) 34
The AP is awesome Posted by: KingShamus at December 02, 2008 11:07 AM (7HvqU) 35
Scabrous walking bug factory $5 crack whores who would slit your throat for a dollar have more integrity than the Associated Press.
Posted by: Purple Avenger at December 02, 2008 11:08 AM (CwzFE) 36
Wait, so all 1930s Japan wanted was oil??!
Posted by: China at December 02, 2008 11:08 AM (zl17B) 37
Bush's fault? Hell no. But one thing I am sick and tired of is the pussy Republican congressional "leadership" trying to skirt any blame because they tried to fix the problem. That may be so, but they damned well didn't try hard enough. The fact that they had majorities in both houses and a president who was ready to sign the reform bill makes it look like it wasn't a serious attempt at all. Granted, we couldn't have moved it through the senate alone, but I sure don't recall anyone pressing the issue very hard. What I do recall is the Republican senate caving in to the Dems at every turn (Gang of 14, anyone?). They should've listened to Yoda: Try not. Do or do not, there is no try. Posted by: Andy at December 02, 2008 11:09 AM (WsTw8) 38
Andy -
Keep in mind that Senate Republicans are a bunch of pussies to begin with. Now make it so they can't get anything done without enticing 10 Democrats. Consider that Democrats are about as kind to their defectors as muslims are. How do you propose moving anything through the Senate when the Senate Banking and Finance committee is dominated by Democrats that are hostile to FMLA reform? The reform NEVER GOT OUT OF COMMITTEE. The blame for the mortgage bubble and subsequent collapse of the financial markets belongs SOLELY to the Democratic Party. Period. End. Posted by: brian at December 02, 2008 11:13 AM (aLMAl) 39
While President Bush may be secure enough to not care about what the media says about him, he does have a responsibility to the next generation of Republicans and conservatives to not leave this nonsense unanswered. He should do so forcefully and in detail to the American public. The press could do nothing more to him than what they are already doing anyway.
Posted by: DCox at December 02, 2008 11:14 AM (CcmfN) 40
Let's face it, all we're gonna hear for the next 4 years is: "It's all George Bush's fault".
Posted by: GarandFan at December 02, 2008 11:17 AM (237hA) 41
#39 If it hasn't happened yet it ain't going to happen.
Posted by: Winston at December 02, 2008 11:18 AM (FggW0) 42
FDR is, to a large degree, responsible DIRECTLY for Pearl Harbor.
Damned right. (using the dem's words) Japan never attacked us, until WE cut off their oil. Why does this sound like Iraq & AQ. (-: Just remember what Saddam did with other counties around him, just like what Japan did to China.
See, FDR should have just left Japan alone. Posted by: 57th Dustoff at December 02, 2008 11:21 AM (h6sl7) 43
Wow, I had no idea that Imperial Japan invaded Korea and Manchuria because of FDR's oil embargo that would happen 9 years later.
The REALITY-based community. Posted by: Techie at December 02, 2008 11:22 AM (MHre4) 44
Look it's a simple AP Equation: Bush, Palin, Conservatives, Responsible Prudent Americans (or any combination of these) = Racist, Sexist, Stupid, Backward, Homophobic. Compare and Contrast: Obama, Democrats, Progressives, Any Special "Protected" Group (Or any combination of these) = Enlightened, Centrist, Blameless and Clearly Better. Posted by: RedRiverTed at December 02, 2008 11:22 AM (Z7fcC) 45
In the back and forth here, there is a party that is not being mentioned. A party that was directly responsible for blackmailing lenders across the nation into lending practices that were contrived to look like they were a boon to the poor, while they were actually just futhering the party agenda of overstressing the social safety net and the financial system. The party? The Party of "Community Organizers". Funny how Obama is appointing so many Clinton retreads and Republicans, isn't it? That's because he is hardly more of a Democrat than he is a Republican. He is actually a Manchurian Candidate from the Community Organizer Party, and all the "centrist" appointments are just to let everyone, including the willingly ignorant Democrats, fool themselves into thinking he is not dangerous after all. Look behind the media-hyped Cabinet appointments at what he and his fellow believers will do "on the ground", and you will see the hand of the Community Organizers grow stronger than ever. If you haven't figured out who the Community Organizers really are by now, God help you. Posted by: sherlock at December 02, 2008 11:25 AM (xqzGc) 46
Then again, ask any high school or college student when Japan initiated the Great Pacific War (IIRC what WW2 is called in Japan). $100 dollars says they won't say 1931. Because teaching history is boring.
Posted by: Techie at December 02, 2008 11:25 AM (MHre4) 47
Hey, George, how's that new tone you brought to Washington working out? Please, Mr Bush, as our President, step up and defend yourself. For the good of your Name, the country and its people, defend yourself. Posted by: the world will be so much sunnier on january 21st at December 02, 2008 11:29 AM (XTY42) 48
I am spitting mad about this article. It is 100% industrial strength bullshit. I was a mortgage industry lobbyist from 1995 until last August. I WISH we had been as effective as this article says. Banks are some of the most ineffective companies in the world when it comes to lobbying. That's a big reason why the Fannie/Freddie reforms never happened. It took the banks 20 years to get Glass-Steagall repealed. Over 300 mortgage lenders have gone out of business since 2007. Does that sound like an industry that has been successful at lobbying? There was some lobbying when the bank regulators started making noise about regulating the so-called nontraditional mortgages. But it wasn't successful at all, and the smart people in the industry already knew that these mortgages were bad business by that time because house values were starting to drop in the overheated markets and defaults were increasing. Payment-option ARM loans and interest-only mortgages are also nothing new. They have been around for decades and are not in and of themselves problematic if they are made for the right reasons to the right borrowers. And there were a few companies who never did them at all. Wells Fargo didn't. Wachovia didn't, though it made an unbelievably stupid purchase of Golden West, which did. Bank of America has not made a subprime loan since 2001. The mortgages were not the problem; the problem arose when the Wall Street guys came up with CDOs and credit-default swaps and synthetic securities that were only remotely backed by actual mortgages held by actual people. These new exotic instruments were barely understood by the people who bought and sold and held them. The rating agencies did not do their jobs in rating them. And none of that would even had happened if Alan Greenspan had not dropped the Fed funds rate to 1% in 2002 and then ratched it back up to almost 5% in 2006. The Fed has never been subject to lobbying by anyone, and it mkes the decisions that really matter. Posted by: rockmom at December 02, 2008 11:30 AM (xOEA9) 49
@43, Col. Andy Tanner:
I don't know. Two toughest kids on the block, I guess. Sooner or later, they're gonna fight.
The whole oil embargo theory does not make sense. Why provoke Japan and have to fight a two front war? A great show is Battle-360 on the History channel. Shows how military was almost defeated by Japan in 1941/1942. If it wasn't for a few thousand men and their determination... Also, a smaller number of pilots fought over Guadalcanal then in the Battle of Britain. Not to mention what the Marines did. Heroes all. God bless them. Posted by: Mike H at December 02, 2008 11:33 AM (LdYLm) Posted by: Average High School or College Student at December 02, 2008 11:33 AM (WsTw8) Posted by: Bluto at December 02, 2008 11:33 AM (Ohodx) 52
Bush shares responsibility to the same extent that he does for the loss of public support for his military efforts in the middle east. The man simply refused to use the tools available to him as the nation's chief executive and the power of the bully pulpit to advance his policy positions. Over and over again he failed to recognize and account for the forces arrayed against him (the radically antagonistic Democrat party and their media enablers) and to adjust his approach accordingly. How many of us pulled our hair out watching him and his administration go supine in the face of left-wing viciousness when the consequences of inaction and the failure to vigorously join the public debate were so high? I simply do not understand what he and his team were thinking from roughly 2004-2007. But the Democrats did in fact actively block reform that was weakly advocated by the Bush Administration and they aren't getting nearly the blame they deserve. Posted by: Fred at December 02, 2008 11:36 AM (IzUmo) 53
I would also add that in the entire history of banking in the United States, the bank regulators have never been able to stay ahead of the bankers. Never. Bankers do not lobby to get what they want, they just figure out new ways to do stuff that the regulators have not yet figured out how to regulate. People with money will always find a new way to make more money, and the regulators are always closing the barn door after the horse is out. It's happened over and over again, and believe me, it will happen again. The only way for it not to happen again is to completely nationalize all banking and capital formation, and that will produce an economy that will never grow again. It sucks that people lose money and savings and jobs when the financial markets crash. But they do crash, because it is human nature for people to try to maximize short term returns and that produces excessive risk which eventually causes a crash. It's a fun parlor game to assign the blame every time one happens, but it's essentially a stupid exercise. Posted by: rockmom at December 02, 2008 11:38 AM (xOEA9) 54
@ 7
led them to wage their war of aggression heh. hello Trolls R Us? yes , return desk please. now where is that receipt..... Posted by: jadedinga at December 02, 2008 11:39 AM (NPzE8) 55
Bluto is making a Caddyshack funny, but it is worth remembering that the Germans declared war on the US, not the other way around, only 10 days after Pearl Harbor. The reaction of the German General Staff was "Oh shit, how did we get into a war with everbody else again!" The reaction of Winston Churchill... well, if he had been an AoS moron, he would have said "I'll be in my bunk!" Posted by: sherlock at December 02, 2008 11:42 AM (xqzGc) Posted by: Tinian at December 02, 2008 11:48 AM (Ohodx) 57
#52 - it's nice to use 20/20 hindsight to criticize the Bush administration for not pushing hard enough on Fannie and Freddie, but that's where the lobbying really did matter. Fannie Mae had the biggest and most ruthless lobbying operation in Washington for several years, and used it spectacularly well. It pretty much owned every Democrat on the House and Senate Banking Committees, as well as a couple of Republicans, and if it could not buy them directly it got its supporters, chiefly the Realtors and Homebuilders, to buy them. Fannie had spies all over the mortgage and banking trade associations and pursued a divide-and-conquer strategy using its big customers like Countrywide to argue against any regulation. It bullied its big customers to help lobby against regulation, it threw money at ACORN and other community-based groups to get them to lobby on its behalf. You also had a situation where Fannie and Freddie appeared so harmless and beneficial to the economy, and the Administration seemed like a scold and a killjoy when it tried to warn about systemic risk from the inordinate growth of the GSEs. People just didn't want to believe it. The meltdown scenario just seemed so remote and crazy that nobody wanted to even look at it. The Congresspeople who didn't know much about this market were hard to convince that it was broke and needed fixing, when all they saw was their constituents enjoying rising home equity and greater wealth. Posted by: rockmom at December 02, 2008 11:48 AM (xOEA9) 58
Actually, FDR is, to a large degree, responsible DIRECTLY for
Pearl Harbor. It was his embargo of oil to Japan which led them to
wage their war of aggression to insure a source of oil for their
country.
BS. The embargoes of Japan were sanctions intended to punish them for their invasion of China and treatment of the Chinese. They had started their war long before those sanctions were put in place. Posted by: Rob Crawford at December 02, 2008 11:55 AM (ZJ/un) 59
FDR had American destroyers illegally escort British shipping from Canada and America before Pearl Harbor. That might have influenced Germany's decision to declare war on the U.S. Posted by: Tinian at December 02, 2008 12:04 PM (Ohodx) 60
@58, I had a buddy spouting off about Hiroshima. I suggested he read about the Rape of Nanking. Haven't heard a peep since.
Posted by: Mike H at December 02, 2008 12:04 PM (LdYLm) 61
Tinian - Germany always intended to declare war on the US. I don't think they did so according to their desired timetable however.
Posted by: brian at December 02, 2008 12:05 PM (aLMAl) 62
Rockmom, you're mostly right, but I can guarantee you that Wells Fargo did do interest-only mortgages. They may not have originated them, but they definitely bought them. Posted by: Average High School or College Student at December 02, 2008 12:07 PM (WsTw8) 63
Gah! Off sockpuppet!
Posted by: Andy at December 02, 2008 12:08 PM (WsTw8) 64
This Must Be Bush's Fault too...
Being bathed so as to get an erection does not sound like something grandpappy would mind so much. Still, it must be either George Bush's or Norm Coleman's fault. Posted by: Fred Thompson at December 02, 2008 12:10 PM (+GRGs) 65
It's scapegoat time ... and what a convenient whipping boy old George Bush makes.
Posted by: Worried Dude at December 02, 2008 12:17 PM (NMkvA) 66
#52 Bush is a decent guy. That's the problem. He fights political battles the same way his kind settle fights in the country club: over scotch and water and everyone's friends at the end of the day. Posted by: East Bay Jim at December 02, 2008 12:19 PM (ocHBO) 67
@ 64 - These little bitches' parents must be so proud of them. Hope they see some jail time, but they probably won't.
Posted by: Andy at December 02, 2008 12:22 PM (WsTw8) 68
Bluto was making an "Animal House" funny and the Germans helped the Japanese by providing a German spy at Pearl Harbor. http://tinyurl.com/62c4fw
FDR does bear some blame for Pearl Harbor. He ordered the fleet moved there from San Diego over the objections of the Pentagon. The Pentagon thought Pearl Harbor was too vulnerable to attack in case of war with Japan. Posted by: Larsen E. Whipsnade at December 02, 2008 12:26 PM (6BgmB) 69
The obvious availability of knowledgeable and insightful sources (see, e.g. Rockmom) make this 'story' even lamer. The AP will not be missed.
Posted by: LAsue at December 02, 2008 12:28 PM (2V7nL) 70
Memo to the Associated Press: die faster, please.
Meh. As a news reporting agency, they already ARE dead. If I want to read an opinion piece, THEN I'll go to AP. But, I find its content is not much different from this non-fee charging opinion source. Posted by: Che Pizza at December 02, 2008 12:36 PM (SPSOE) 71
FDR had American destroyers illegally escort British shipping from Canada and America before Pearl Harbor.
How does one illegally escort ships exactly? What maritime provision does that violate? Posted by: adamthemad at December 02, 2008 12:48 PM (kIjlp) 72
I must be an idiot because I actually want to be called a "Hoosier," which is not only a stupid word, but nobody even knows where it came from. Impeach Bush!
Posted by: hoserbrad at December 02, 2008 12:57 PM (f7A+e) 73
How does one illegally escort ships exactly? What maritime provision does that violate? I saw this on a documentary years ago. IRRC, Congress had passed a law requiring their authorization for the the president to use U.S. ships as escorts for shipping to belligerents. Anyways, FDR did it in secret and without authorization. FDR did whatever he wanted to do, for the most part. Thank God he didn't get away with packing The Supreme Court and the National Recovery Administration was ruled unconstitutional. Posted by: Tinian at December 02, 2008 01:06 PM (Ohodx) 74
Anyways, FDR did it in secret and without authorization.
Kind of like Reagan did with Iran Contra, I suppose. In both cases, the question is, or should be, who is in charge of foreign policy, the executive branch or the legislative branch? Posted by: OregonMuse at December 02, 2008 01:13 PM (FO+YO) 75
Kind of like Reagan did with Iran Contra, I suppose.
NO! Not like that at all, thank you very much!!!!1!!1!! FDR was a brilliant man who had to do what he had to do to save the country he loved! Reagan was an evil man who had no right bypassing the laws of this country in this way, no matter what the reason. Remember this when Obama is tested and does something that we may not immediately understand or approve of, because Obama is a thoughtful, intelligent, caring man who will always know what is best for us. Always. God, I just adore that man...... Posted by: Stupid Typical Fucking Moonbat at December 02, 2008 01:17 PM (wWwJR) 76
It happened on his watch. Does the buck only stop there if its a good thing?
Posted by: Hoosierbrad at December 02, 2008 10:19 AM (y/JJL) I bet old Hoosierbrad will be here claiming all bad news that happens on Obama's watch is really the fault of the previous administration. Posted by: Bilby at December 02, 2008 01:31 PM (lJp9L) 77
Boy, I get tired of correcting people on their assumption that this mess is a Bush/Repub issue. Wouldn't have to if it weren't for the fraudulent, douchebag media's part in keeping the sheeple down. To many friends still believe what's in print - first rule to my college-age kids: if the byline has AP anywhere near it, it's a complete lie.
AP - what a bunch of fuckin' choads. Posted by: apb at December 02, 2008 01:41 PM (4Ac/Q) 78
Actually, FDR is, to a large degree, responsible DIRECTLY for Pearl Harbor. It was his embargo of oil to Japan which led them to wage their war of aggression to insure a source of oil for their country. Harding--not FDR--was president when the Washington Naval Treaty was signed, a 1922 postwar pact that limited Japanese naval tonnage and compelled the Japanese Navy to adhere to a 5:5:3 ratio of aircraft carriers (Britain and the U.S. were both permitted 5, often justified by the fact that the former had a three-ocean navy, the latter a two-ocean force). While this treaty (which Japan abandoned in 1934) wasn't a casus belli in and of itself, it certainly didn't engender goodwill with erstwhile ally Japan, and becameYamamoto's rationale for attacking Pearl Harbor: he knew that the U.S. could outproduce Japan, and thought that 1941 was as good a time as any to even the carrier odds consonant with the timeline of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere "efforts." All that to say that, umm, Yamamoto was "directly responsible for Pearl Harbor."
Posted by: railwriter at December 02, 2008 01:42 PM (nwEiU) Posted by: TennDon at December 02, 2008 01:42 PM (TTjg8) 80
It is Bush's fault. He is not the only one responsible but it is his tendency toward a liberal social and economic view that caused this, up to and including the $700 billion bailout to nowhere.
That's compassionate conservatism for you. Posted by: WalrusRex at December 02, 2008 01:54 PM (DVVXZ) 81
I had no idea that Imperial Japan invaded Korea and Manchuria because of FDR's oil embargo that would happen 9 years later
Where do you think Rove got the plans for the time machine from? Yep, he was in league with Imperial Japan and they hooked him up. Posted by: Purple Avenger at December 02, 2008 01:58 PM (CwzFE) 82
Also not mentioned in the article: John McCain, who tried to tighten up subprime lending in 2006: http://tinyurl.com/3q6dc9
Posted by: Bud Norton at December 02, 2008 02:06 PM (6cOMd) 83
Reminds me of Nicolas Cage's character in Raising Arizona. He couldn't suppress his urge to rob liquor stores "with that son of a bitch Reagan in the White House." All we need for contrast are stories of miraculous healings from cripples touching the hem of the Messiah-elect's robe. Posted by: Empire of Jeff at December 02, 2008 02:17 PM (bu0Ek) 84
Blatant lie that makes no snese. AP just had to destroy any ounce of credibility they might have had left. Unfortunatly too many people know the actual truth .This spin will be seen in history as just what it is-a crock of shit from blow job giving Jouranlism. Might have helped if the other side of the spin wasn't that jouranlism died before this election and the mountain of stories that Washington elected had a big hand in it. They really do think the public believes their spin-it fools no one but themselves
Posted by: Jody C. at December 02, 2008 03:07 PM (B/Y39) 85
LOS ANGELES - U.S. newspaper advertising revenue collapsed by nearly $2 billion, or 18 percent, in the third quarter, according to the Newspaper Association of America, an industry group. Even online ad revenue made a small U-turn for the second quarter in a row. The year-on-year quarterly percentage decline is the worst since since the NAA has been keeping such records and represents an increasingly rapid deceleration that began in the third quarter of 2006, when total ad spending dropped 1.5 percent.
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The Bush administration backed off proposed crackdowns on no-money-down, interest-only mortgages years before the economy collapsed... But wait. I have read over and over again that this has been an "Imperial Presidency." If that were true, Bush could have changed policies by executive fiat. Which is it? Posted by: Steve L. at December 02, 2008 03:51 PM (Gkhxf) 87
This is like what the global warming acolytes do with the Medieval Warm Period. To try to explain it away with new interpretations of the data or some such just "confuses" the commoners. Much safer to simply eliminate it from the books and reports and never allow it to be spoken of again.
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Certainly the Dems are more to blame, but I wouldn't absolve Bush and at least some of the R's. The housing boom was a consequence of the "ownership society". Dont get me wrong, I love the concept of that, but that general philosophy was undertaken poorly. Just as government creates problems by suppressing certain activity (like high taxes and a welfare state discourages hard work), it creates problems through stimuli of certain sectors. Especially if they are ill-designed stimuli. This problem was created by a plan to encourage homeownership (so far, its fine), but it encouraged loans to people who couldn't pay them back.
Now, I have a theory that much of this actually is a consequence of the 90's. The powers that be wanted to stimulate the economy to prevent a major collapse around 2001. If you compare 1995-1999, it is quite similar to 1924-1929. In the 90's, the market 3x'ed in 4 years. In the 20's, it 4x'ed in 5 yrs. Both had steady economic growth around 3%, but not enough to justify the market bubble. To me, that suggests the growth in both cases was a result of excessive credit growth. CPI remained about flat in each case. The Bush team staved off an economic collapse for 7 years by supporting the past collapsing market bubble with a housing bubble. Now it is a question of what bubble will be used as a support for this more recent collapsing bubble? probably money/debt. So our current woes probably have origins in the 90's with the loose monetary policy and poor banking regulations. Personally, I separate the financial/banking industry from the rest of the economy because it is intrinsicly linked to our money. Posted by: A.G. at December 02, 2008 05:04 PM (JoIvi) 89
Of course it's Bush's fault. Everyone needs a scapegoat, and the new democratic regime has found theirs. Bush is a great president and deserves a legacy fitting of a man who accomplished so much in his two terms. This mudslinging and finger pointing is just outright disrespectful and wrong. The illuminati left is so desperate to keep their shoes clean they're willing to wash them off with the Republicans shirt.
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Yes, but It's not just "Bush is responsible for rainy days." He actively lobbied for reform and regulation.
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