Senate Dems Push Conflicting Messages on McCain

The Democrats apparently had their collective heads in the sand 5 years ago:
The NY Times five years ago reported that the Bush administration proposed increased oversight and regulation of Fannie and Freddie, but Democrats pushed back. "The Bush administration today recommended the most significant regulatory overhaul in the housing finance industry since the savings and loan crisis a decade ago. Under the plan, disclosed at a Congressional hearing today, a new agency would be created within the Treasury Department to assume supervision of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored companies that are the two largest players in the mortgage lending industry. The new agency would have the authority, which now rests with Congress, to set one of the two capital-reserve requirements for the companies. It would exercise authority over any new lines of business. And it would determine whether the two are adequately managing the risks of their ballooning portfolios." Democrats pushed back: "Among the groups denouncing the proposal today were the National Association of Home Builders and Congressional Democrats who fear that tighter regulation of the companies could sharply reduce their commitment to financing low-income and affordable housing. "These two entities, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are not facing any kind of financial crisis," said Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts, the ranking Democrat on the Financial Services Committee. "The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing." Representative Melvin L. Watt, Democrat of North Carolina, agreed. "I don't see much other than a shell game going on here, moving something from one agency to another and in the process weakening the bargaining power of poorer families and their ability to get affordable housing," Mr. Watt said."

The Phantom, the free market works best when government leaves well enough alone. The downturn in the housing market was a cyclical thing. When prices got too high, people stopped buying. There are plenty of buyers out there, but now they are waiting for the best buys. Eventually the buyers will begin buying again, and prices will go back up. Under normal circumstances this should have been a fairly smooth ride down and a fairly quick return back up.

HOWEVER, the crisis that we now have is because for years many of the banks were giving mortgages to just about anyone who applied; and the investment firms began buying many of these mortgages. No longer did you have to prove the ability to pay back the loans. And to compound this these same banks pushed the high risk, subprime flexible rates onto their customers. And with these low flexible rates, speculators began purchasing homes left and right. This was all working out well until the housing market turned south. Soon many of the homes were worth half or even a third of the amount of the mortgage. So the interest rates skyrocketed. All of a sudden mortgage payments were doubled and even tripled. The speculators with multiple mortgages just simply walked away. The poor individual who was living in his home and now unable to make the mortgage payments lost his or her home. And then these investment firms and banks were stuck with hundreds of thousands of foreclosed properties worth a fraction of the original purchasing price.

While greed had a hand in causing this crisis, the culprit was the federal goverment's interference. Investor's Business Daily, on Monday, posted the following on their website: "Tough new regulations forced lenders into high-risk areas where they had no choice but to lower lending standards to make the loans that sound business practices had previously guarded against making. It was either that or face stiff government penalties."

There are now tens of thousands of individuals in the market to purchase a home. But due to the mortgage crisis, loans are almost impossible to obtain. Without the subprime mortgage fiasco, we would already be on our way back. Now it could take several years to recover.

The sad thing is Congress doesn't even understand the role it played in all of this. And now Congress wants to meddle into the free market again regarding the skyrocketing energy prices. Let the free market correct itself.

If economy is not strong nor sound, should I sell off my stocks now to be safe? Obama should know better what he is saying, he makes me nervous. Seems Obama is the one out of tocuh this time. Scary.

Does Harry Reid have ANY credibility? The man is total partisan hack loser.
He and Pelosi are just the leftwing versions of Tom "The Hammer" DeLay. People that put PARTY before COUNTRY.

Pelosi and Reid have presided over the most worthless Congress in history. McCain should take it as a COMPLIMENT anytime Pelosi and Reid badmouth him.

Biden’s on the road throwing his friend of 30 years John McCain under the bus. Would you throw a close friend of 30 years under the Bus? In Public? Obama threw his Spiritual leader and Grandmother under the bus. These two are throwing the average man and woman under the bus with their incessant blaming of the republicans with the failing economy. Pelosi and Reed promised all kinds of changes when they came to power two years ago and headed the do nothing congress thus throwing the electorate under the bus. Gasoline was two dollars a gallon two years ago but you and yours as well as me and mine got thrown under the liberal bus. Wake up America before you and yours get run over by the liberal bus.
By HKettlehake

The Liberal anti-McCain Press have a new name called "CELESTINES Woes". They woe in the morning,they woe at midday and they woe at sunset.Seems they have their hands full.

Because there is nothing whatsoever in between "strong economy" and "run on the banks! panic! Depression!"

Oh, for pity's sake. McCain's "clarifications" about his comments were that American workers were still teh awsum. This is what he meant by the fundamentals of the economy are strong. This is not what, let's just say economists, mean by the fundamentals of the economy are strong, but okay. The economy is only bad when American workers suck. I am starting to believe John McCain when he said he didn't know much about the economy.

I think McCain's response was exactly what a president does. First he reassures, then he builds hope and confidence that we can get through this crisis, then he lays out a plan for fixing it.

Obama and the democrats used the occasion to gain politically and make everyone more anxious. Now that isn't the kind of leadership I want. Don't jump into the panic and take advantage of a crisis. McCain knows there are big problems--he just didn't want everyone nose diving.

Gosh, Reps come out like sharks when someone brings up Herbert Hoover and McCain in the same paragraph ;-)

James Danley:

If you haven't noticed...THREE OF THE FIVE LARGEST INVESTMENT BANKING FIRMS HAVE BEEN BLOWN TO SMITHEREENS IN THE PAST FEW MONTHS...AND COUNTRYWIDE MORTGAGE WAS BOUGHT OUT BY BofA TO AVOID A SIMILAR PUBLIC FATE...AND BEAR STEARNS WAS EUTHANIZED BY THE US GOVERMENT...AND NOBODY HAS ANY FREAKING IDEA HOW MUCH DEBT IS REALLY OUT THERE...AND THE US ECONOMY, INCLUDING THE MARKETS, HAS BEEN GOING SIDEWAYS FOR SEVEN FREAKING YEARS...AND OUR DOLLAR IS BLEEDING...AND WE'RE LIVING OFF OVERSEAS CREDITORS...AND THE AVERAGE PERSON IS WORKING MORE FOR LESS, WITH LITTLE OR NOT HEALTHCARE, LITTLE OR NO RETIREMENT SAVINGS, AND LITTLE OR NO HOPE THAT THINGS WILL GET BETTER.

And you show me your numbers like it means something. It means nothing. GDP will always be calculable, and rarely look horrifying. As for the amount of money raised by the candidates, that's a joke, right? You could take all the money that all candidates have ever raised in American politics and throw it at the cost of the Iraq War and it would buy us a couple of weeks.

A COUPLE OF FREAKING WEEKS!!!!!!!!!!

susie: those two are the worst hypocritical individuals in American polotical history.

The Phantom, if the fundamentals of the American economy are so week explain two facts:

(1) GDP grew in the first half of the year (0.9% in the first quarter; and 3.3% in the second quarter).

(2) Both candidates and both political parties raised a total of $152 million JUST IN AUGUST (Sen. Obama--$66 million; the DNC--$17 million; Sen. McCain--$47 million; and the RNC--$22 million).

"Question - if there is truly no reason to think we are headed into an economic depression and truly no reason to panic, aren't the fundamentals, on some level, strong?"

Now there you go again making sense. That's not going to go well with the left.

Jake,

Thank you for this opportunity to help you get over yourself. The fundamentals of the American economy are not strong, they are weak -- currently. It is true that America is a massive economic engine, but like any engine it's the fuel and the destination that determine how far you go and where you end up.

John McCain believes in bad fuel (trickle-down policies and little or no government regulation of markets that are not transparent) and wants to her our contry in the wrong direction (private SS accounts held by the same Wall St. idiots who just blew up Lehman Brothers, etc.). The Democrats are saying that if John McCain is elected, he'll screw things up so bad you won't believe it.

That's not a contradiction. But in the world of press reporting, journalistic spin is the new black. And may I say, you look fabulous....

Fundamentals means basics, they way our economy is set up is strong if the dems/libs would stay out of it it would be fine.

How much money are the Obama making off this economy!!

How can Obama say the economy is anything when his elitist friend are buying 31,000 dollar dinners!!
Thats an Average American!! yes we all buy 31,000 dinners!

The fundamentals of our economy are not strong as you pointed out Jake in an earlier post.

But this is not 1929. I seriously don't think the majority of Americans will be lining up for free soup in the near future.

But for McCain to repeat that the fundamentals are strong after being hammered by the Dems for it shows he has lost his ability as a politician. And then to come back and say he meant "American workers" are the fundamentals just looks stupid.

This is not newsworthy since it calls into question the integrity and intelligence of a Democratic candidate (no response expected): In an article entitled “Biden’s Belly Flop”, Newsweek printed Joe Biden’s yearbook picture from his college days and a copy of his law school transcripts with the big “F” in his transcripts circled. Biden was given a chance to repeat his legal methods course, and above the “F” his retake grade of 80% was eventually penciled in. Being a repeat offender when it came to plagiarism made things much, much worse for Biden than they might have been otherwise in his failed bid for the Democratic presidential ticket in 1987.

Isn't ACORN a community org., maybe Obama worked for them and that is why
we haven't heard of his work.

One good move in Pelosi's corner!!
Stepping on Hellery was great.
The eight years we had to have her hanging around in the WH was enough to puke your stomach linings out. Talk about an empty suit!!! That woman is dangerous.