Burning Down The House: (Karl Rove - Bush Version)

[carnut476]

Bush is not only a damn Yankee he's a dumb yankee also ...lol

[sazerac1]

What a cheapskate!

Clinton got Fannie Mae to lend about $420 billion every YEAR to our minorities.

[mrgetrealpeople]

@sazerac1 BS........

watch?v=kNqQx7sjoS8 the whole video.....

[ryancave1234]

also.... obama was a lawyer whosued banks for not issueing subprime loans, mccain actually recognized the problem in 2003 and again in 2005, ironically he loses the election haha

[ryancave1234]

bush said he wanted to people to own homes.... but he recognized the problems that came about in 2003 and the dems blocked it.... u forgot to mention that

[RyderSpearmann]

This just proves that Democrat ideas are just as stupid when Republicans do them.

Anyone who has ever said that government should do more for minorities... anyone who ever stood up for affirmative action... anyone who ever spoke to shame a government official for not wanting to pander to race... you are all guilty, for you have created an environment where all leftists, centrists, and left leaning republicans (like Bush), caved in to your flawed world view.

It is time for a colorblind law.

[harkinsrule]

Hey Ryder Spearman!! KUDOS

You said all, I could not have said it better!

[jupirer]

fromthepen I have a question , how many elections has the constitution party won ?

You wasted your vote . Don't bother replying ,use the time to plan your party's next lost election instead.

[jbiller]

People like you piss me off. Voting for who you actually want in office is a better use of a vote then voting on who you think will win. As long as we have dipshits that buy into the Democraps/Replicants simply because they'll win (voting for the lesser evil crap), then we will end up with a shitty two party system forever. Stop being a fucking sheep and vote for who you actually think can make a difference.

[jupirer]

I seem to remember a Drunk Ted " Let her Drown Kennedy singing in spanish and having a hand in that Amnesty Crap , But a Hypocrite Democrat would never mention that . Now try again chump and next time when there is a D in front of the guy's name working with the R-guy don't forget to mention him , and you will get more respect

[fromthepen]

I'm a registered Independent voter. I voted for Chuck Baldwin and the Constitution Party. The Republicans are not conservative enough for me.

Try changing to Independent like me and you will see you will no longer be a slave to your party's letter and be able to admit when your side is responsible for our mess, too. If I had to choose between Dems and Repubs, sure, I'm going Repubs, but that doesn't mean Bush's hand wasn't all over this too.

[bigzooce]

If the democrats weren't always using the excuse of "protecting the smaller guy," Affirmative Action wouldn't be anything like it is today. You white males that have felt the development of AA should know what I'm talking about

CLEARLY, this is Bush getting his feet into making money off of pushing a subprime loan mandate! Listen to this idiot with his UHHHH's and WE'RE GONNAs...You know somebody approached him with this scam and was like W, WE GOTTA GET OUR FEET IN! Can't believe this CRAP

[FreeAgain2]

You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.

You cannot help small men by tearing down big men.

You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.

You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.

You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatreds.

You cannot build character and courage by taking away a man's initiative and independence.

You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.

[SeanL116]

It worked during every past economic crisis. Why wouldn't it work now?

[mredstriumph]

The only reason Dems and their supporters even mention the 1999 CRA amendment is because it has a Republican name attached to it.

A Repub's name attached to an obscure bill that most don't even understand is as close as the Dems can come to blaming Repubs for this. Never mind they appointed Gorelick with NO TRAINING OR EXPERIENCE IN FINANCE as VP of Fanni Mae, Frank's boyfriend was a FNMA exec, Dodd took money/real estate, Obama sued on behalf of ACORN, Raines $10B irregularity resignation..

[mredstriumph]

The 99 ammend let banks buy insurance underwriters & get involved in securities, which MOST didn't anyway, but so what?

Even Chris Dodd - Democrat CHAIR of t Senate Committee on Banking & Housing says it was SUBPRIME MORTGAGE DEFAULTS that caused the crisis - not banks&insurance mergers

The Burning Down House opening segment shows t vid of him saying it, yet you deny its subprimes & say I'm a fannatic? You don't believe the Repubs, the Dems, or even CSPAN which all agree on this point.

[lkats50]

Well it seems to me that both Democrats and Republicans have contributed to this mess. Blame gets us no where. Personally, I think we need to fire them all and start over. They all have to much vested interest in keeping their jobs. They only have interest in us when they need our votes. This is not a governmet by the people for the people.

[christineglamazon]

The original "Burning" video has its comments disabled so I can't note that its creator, TheMouthPiece, is a neocon propagandist. That video ignores that Phil Gramm (R-Texas), McCain's former chief economic advisor, authored the deregulation legislation that made this meltdown possible. The CRA began in 1977 but it wasn't until Gramm's 1999 bill was passed by a GOP majority that the system began to be abused. So, no, it wasn't the Dems no matter how much neocons want to blame them.

[falcondan95705]

Do YOU even know what a NEOCON is???? It is a FORMER LIBERAL Who has become a CONSERVATIVE!!!! DUMMY!!!

[christineglamazon]

Former liberal is what it used to mean when it was first coined back in the 1970s. Since BushCo it has become a shorthand for phony conservatives who believe in foreign intervention, aiding and abetting corporate theft and pandering to the religious right.

[falcondan95705]

I think YOU idiots who use the term <"NEOCON", think it refers to NEO NAZI!!! YOU are peckerwoods!!!

[mredstriumph]

Here is Wikipedia on Gramms involvement: The bill was killed in 1998 because Senator Phil Gramm wanted the bill to expand the number of banks which no longer would be covered by the CRA. He also demanded full disclosure of any financial deals which community groups had with banks, accusing such groups of "extortion."

He was trying to stop ACORN's extortion & trying to get rid of the CRA ratings-the numeric QUOTA system that was forcing the BAD LOANS-the very things that caused the problems!!!

[mredstriumph]

Time has shown that Phil Gramm was RIGHT!!! IF Phil Gramm's changes had been enacted, this whole meltdown would have been prevented.

Here is the C-SPAN footage of what actually happened!!!

/watch?v=blcC_kCnf8U

'Shocking Video Unearthed Democrats in their own words'

[christineglamazon]

I watched the vid and it doesn't prove your point about Gramm. You can't tell in what context all of these soundbites are being used. Furthermore Fannie and Freddie are but two of the hundreds of banks who made these outrageously bad loans. What is the excuse for all of them? Nice try, neocon.

[mredstriumph]

Fannie Mae is $700 billion+ in the hole & stocks tanked, so what is the ACCEPTABLE context for "there is nothing wrong with Fannie Mae. No oversight is needed"?

Wiki Jamie Gorelick's qualifications for Fannie VP. She made $26M in 6 years in a govt appointed office. Raines $90M in 5.

FNMA and FHLMC are NOT "banks." They are GSEs that the government uses to guarantee mortgages. You don't understand the problem, but you're at least willing to look, so indulge me this:

/watch?v=1RZVw3no2A4

[christineglamazon]

Those hearings were back in 2004 before real estate values started going crazy and nothing was wrong with FNMA and FHLMC. That first video goes on as if those two institutions were the only onmes making bad loans. I don't need to waste my time watching for GOP propaganda.

[mredstriumph]

The 1999 ammendment to the Community Reinvestment Act that YOU cited - and Gramm's position on the matter is impartially outlined in Wikipedia. These are referenced by articles 29,30,31 at the end of the wiki.

By ALL accounts, the problem in the credit market is SUBPRIME MORTGAGE DEFAULTS, NOT banking/insurance mergers. This is obvious because Adjustable Rate Mortgages and Interest Only loans given to people using welfare, foodstamps, & unemployment as income (as req'd by LAW) is a bad idea

[christineglamazon]

Given that, like many politcally charged entries in Wikipedia, "The neutrality of this article is disputed," I will not put my faith in what some rightwing supply-sider wrote.

[darliegoddess]

" is impartially outlined in Wikipedia."

Wiki isn't a fact base, it's a user biased slop market where consensus rules. In other words absolute bullshit.

It is absolutely the fed , banking and insurance under writers ! THEY BOUGHT THEM ! THEY REPACKAGED THEM KNOWING THEY WERE WORTHLESS ! THEY ARE CRIMINALS ! McCain, Gramm and the republican congress caused the entire market and even Bush knew it, he altered the bankruptcy laws to trap debtors for life . THEY KNEW!

[darliegoddess]

Eat your crow like a good little neocon. You and your incompetent , fiscally irresponsible corporate socialists have consumed 100,000 x the welfare moms and drug using hippies. It's financial treason and should be punishable by law just as all forms of treason are !

[darliegoddess]

Republicans in 1999 deregulated banks and caused the entire loan scandal !

[mredstriumph]

FNMA FHLMC are NOT banks . They DO NOT MAKE LOANS. Educate yourself on this fact or just admit that you have no idea what youre talking about.

Banks were sued & CRA Stds were imposed in the name of Social Justice aka communism. This FORCED the invention of creative loans (ARMs and Interest only), elim'd down payments & lowering credit/income reqs.

Fannie Mae (i.e. the government) GUARANTEED THE LOANS. Thats how we got to the bailout/trillion dollar crisis. The CRA broke those banks

[christineglamazon]

FNMA FHLMC are not banks in the conentional sense, but they do -- like investment banks -- lend money to other institutions to allow them to conduct business. They would have not had to guarantee those bad loans had Phil Gramm's (R-Texas) legislation not been enacted to make them possible. It was a GOP majority Congress that passed that law. Phil Gramm's changes *were* enacted in 1999, making the entire mess possible. You're a fanatic if you think it was minority loans alone that caused this.

[mredstriumph]

It wasnt "minority loans". They were merely the impetus & brought the lawsuits to reduce the standards. The govt forced elimination of lending standards for EVERYONE via 95 CRA ammend & caused this.

Credit standards WERE NOT loosened in 99 as u say (still Clinton btw), those changes were made in 1995! Look it up in findlaw & read it. CRA COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS were REDUCED by Gramm - exactly why it didn't pass in 98. The final 99 Ammendment passed with +80% Dem support & Clinton signed.

[darliegoddess]

"1999 Gramm ()R) snuck in a 262-page amendment to a government re-authorization bill that created what is now the $62 trillion market for credit default swaps (CDSs). Gramm's "The Commodity Futures Modernization Act" freed financial institutions from oversight of their CDS transactions.

[darliegoddess]

A regulatory structure set up for banks in the 1930s ] was repealed in 1999 by Gramms bill, the $300 million lobbying effort that drove deregulation was more about facilitating mergers than creating an efficient regulatory framework. Gramms role didnt stop there. A year after the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act repealed the old regulations, Swiss Bank UBS gobbled up brokerage house Paine Weber.Two years later, Gramm settled in as a vice chairman of UBSs new investment banking arm.

[darliegoddess]

Gramm became a major player in its government affairs operation. According to federal lobbying disclosure records, Gramm lobbied Congress, the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department about banking and mortgage issues in 2005 and 2006.

During those years, the mortgage industry pressed Congress to roll back strong state rules that sought to stem the rise of predatory tactics used by lenders and brokers to place homeowners in high-cost mortgages.

[darliegoddess]

For his work, Gramm and two other lobbyists collected $750,000 in fees from UBSs American subsidiary. In the past year, UBS has written down more than $18 billion in exposure to subprime loans and other risky securities and is considering cutting as many as 8,000 jobs.

politico*com/news/stories/0308­/9246*html

[darliegoddess]

Lol!!!!! You are a complete LIAR ! This was a REPUBLICAN CONGRESS THAT ENTIRE TIME ! There is no John McCain or Phil Gramm calling for more regulation. And don't talk about the dems being "dumb" about houses being risky, you and your bank buddies said the same shit to EVERYONE ! You all rejected regulation as you looted social security !

[StarRinger]

...A couple of speeches on the subject makes Bush responsible?

[fromthepen]

I'll repeat this:

It's not just a couple of speeches. The speaches are a highlight of the underlying philosophy he has for 8 years with regards to immigration. Compassionate conservatism is dangerous. We see it was PART of the problem.

[StarRinger]

I think you're trying to make this more complex than it is, to a degree. Was Bush's policy on immigration wrongheaded? Surely. Does that make him responsible for the subprime mortgage fiasco? Possibly. But not outright, I don't think. More illegal immigrants is a factor. But putting your video up as a direct response to Burning Down the House makes it seem like you're making a proportional comparison to the people who outright denied regulations, which is what I think has everyone up in arms.

[fromthepen]

Bush's "speeches" are in 2002 and 2003. This allowed two years for Freddie and Fannie (with Democrat assistance)ample time to screw things up. Bush gave them the moral ok to rush through loans. As I've said, he's PARTIALLY responsible. I can't say that enough apparently.

As for the "proportional comparision" thing - let this be a lesson to you on gurilla marketing. If a video has 800k hits like the original did, one better tie into it, least one never get noticed.

[tonybrucela]

The current status quo in DC has ruined our economy. Politicians don't care, not with your money for bail outs. Clinton's AG Janet Reno threatened jail if the bankers didn't do sub-prime mortgages.

Republicans let banks borrow against assets 40 to 1. So the bankers made as many loans as possible.

Do you really think Obama can give clear guidance being the second largest recipient of Freddie and Fannie campaign contributions.

DUMP EM ALL

[writemrbond]

More racist bullshit! Actually, banks pushed subprime loans on many minority families who qualified for prime loans because they could make more profits in fees on subprime loans. They didn't care that the loans would go bad because they were going to sell the loans to investors anyway. This is a story of greed on the part of banks and Wallstreet. But all of the videos these guys have made are shallow racist attempts to blame it all on minorities when just as many whites are being foreclosed on!

[fromthepen]

As I mentioned in the video, EVERYONE is at fault, including minorities, whites, Dems, Republicans, etc, etc.

What you never hear, though, in almost all media stories is the minority/immigrant angle (and the Bush angle). This video highlights that angle while admitting that the angle isn't the only one.

racist accusations!!!!! Wow, never heard of those before. Do they help you deal with uncomfortable facts? They do nothing to me and make you look less educated when you resort to them.

[TOL1488]

Minority pandering will destroy this country.

[1cheekecow]

President Bush is not the whole problem but he certainly isnt the solution. It is a scary time to be an American. As we all watched the stock market pludge today and the dollar to continue to get weaker. Vote thats all you can do. Vote for a change and voice your opinion......Otherwise you can never comlain about our government again!

[stillie4]

So one speech Bush gave makes him the fault of the housing crisis? This started long before he was in office. Nice try, but you're way off.

[fromthepen]

It's not just a speech stillie4. The speech is a highlight of the underlying philosophy he has for 8 years with regards to immigration. Compassionate conservatism is dangerous. We see it was PART of the problem.

[haytubenon]

The Republicans and Democrats can go to Hell. Screw these liars and scoundrels.

[rstryker27]

Bush is not on the ballot.Rove has NEVER been on the ballot(What is the obsession with you people out here over Karl Rove?)Obama is. The same Obama who beleives in the "social engineering" practices that are at the root of this mess. No way do I want that guy as President.

[fromthepen]

"You people" That's funny. Do a goodle search (or a youtube search) for Rove and Immigration. Clearly both Rove and Bush are responsible, also, for the mess this video highlights.

I'm a paleo-conservative. McCain & Obama voted for this outrageous bailout. You are right though. I'll try to get rid of Obama first, then deal with McCain afterwards by blocking any of his attempts at amnesties and more bailouts.

[rstryker27]

What I mean by "you people" is the crowd that wants to paint Bush as stupid but has to graft in an outside force to cover evil as well.Rove was an advisor.Nothing more than a boogy man for liberals to make a fall guy since Bush is supossedly to stupid to plan this stuff.Beyond that we agree. This bailout was outrageous.I'm with you here. It's time for a REAL third party.Not the BS alternatives out there now.

[carcabe]

Government interference in the free interactions of people(the market) is ALWAYS an attempt to cheat reality. Insane and childish. It's a game of let's pretend. Let's pretend that everyone has earned and can afford a house. Let's pretend that everyone is equally credit worhty. Let's take money from some people and give it to others so we all can pretend that they are prosperous.

You can full reality only for so long. Then it all comes crashing down. Reality always wins. Game Over.

[TxsAggie96]

And finally. This MUST NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN. 10% down must be required. If you can't save as a renter, then you most likely cannot afford a house. There are many hidden costs in houses, which a lot of people do not understand (i.e. Maintenance, taxes, insurance) that you do not get as a renter. Low income buyers should never be offered ARMs. When rates go up, the interest should absolutely KILL their finances. NEVER LET THIS HAPPEN AGAIN. Write your congressman/woman!!

[TxsAggie96]

What is NOT fact is that the areas of high forclosures were high immigration areas. Texas and New Mexico are all high immigration areas and as you can see from the map, these areas are experiencing a moderate amount of forclosures (even lower than places like Ohio, Michigan, Colorado, Washington, places not known for high immigration.

[TxsAggie96]

Bush was setting a goal. He did not force the banks to set quotas. Fact: In 2003 the Administration asked for more regulation. Fact: In 2005 McCain cosponsored legislation to get more oversight on regulation. Fact: In 2007 Republicans attempted to introduce regulatory legislation again, and all times were stymied by Democrats. There is another video from 2004 on youtube of Dem's dressing regulators down because they were suggesting that there was a problem with Freddie/Fannie.

[heyyalover08]

this was in 2002 and in 2004 when the Bush admin and republicans in congress saw the need for more oversight..the democrats blocked them from passing any legislation

[haytubenon]

You're part of the problem.

[stephenm1]

blame the crisis on black folk..lmao...

[sazerac1]

Fannie Mae announced this plan in 2000 under Clinton! Bush seems to be taking credit for money he had nothing to do with. This is NOT new money! This is not money that Bush even asked for.

The only thing Bush did in the housing market was take $200 million a year from HUD's regular budget and put it towards down payments and education for minorities. He got home builders to help finance down payments, as well. Only 6% of loans through Bush's program have defaulted.

[eksdem]

You'll notice that Bush wanted money for "BUYER EDUCATION" Bush said that borrowers should be educated so they could

a.avoid predatory lenders and

b.so that they could know "how much house" they could afford.

1. Why did the Democrats obstruct the oversight reforms Bush called for?

2. Why were people given LARGER loans than they could afford?

[priorzola]

You really need to give up PELLA because their are NO FACTS in your spewings and all you write about are tired cliched rhetoric that I have heard a thousand times and can easily conjur up a rebuttal because there's no substance to most NEO-CONS claims. So you're going to have to do better than parrot Rush and Hannity talking points because I know them already, realise how full of holes they are, and can dispute them at will.

[priorzola]

AND BTW, the high foreclosures include MIAMI, LA, and LAS VEGAS which beyond being high IMMIGRANT populations were also the tarket of MANY A FLIPPER (many who got the now troubled Alt A loans based on credit scores alone--ie most likely not poor). These areas saw huge growth in all elements of their populations because these cities had booming economies and became more desireable for all kinds of people to move to. Don't make an inference that only the Latinos in these areas are foreclosing.

[gisforgary]

i agree with you 100%. I live in orlando, florida and we have plenty of foreclosures ourselves. we have new homes/condos that never sold and land spec properties sitting in disarray -- i have an acre of muck with a sign on it across the street from me. i think we need to auction off greenwich ct and other con family properties as bailout payment -- take the twins trust fund! i don't think big chunks of america realize what is going on in the middle of this foreclosure stuff. its so much more.

[priorzola]

Most of the people haven't been to seen these HUGE DEVELOPING areas. I live in NYC and I travel to the West Coast a lot. There was OVER SPECULATION and places these developers can't unload. TOO MANY who don't leave their cul-de-sac are inately afraid of them there big cities rife w/ immigrants, minorities, and the gays BUT these cities happen to be where a great deal of the housing boom happened and are now seeing the fall.

[gisforgary]

i think the scariest part of this is bush saw himself and other cons making bucks off the poor people getting seriously messed up mortgages to pay for houses they couldn't afford in the first place. its a twisted version of enslavment to the banking community. i am a proud renter -- i wouldn't want a mortgage over my head in this mess. it gives me better opportunity to get out of this messed up country. god help us in 2009.

[priorzola]

This is no different than BUSH and his other cons making money of the poor and middle class from the increase in gas prices. Everywhere you look, Bush is setting himself up to have kickback and WINDFALLS for all the CORPORATISTS he helped while he RUINED the rest of the country. AND DON'T think those massive increases in gas prices (300% in 8 years) isn't also a contributable factor.

[jono2112]

fromthepen, where did you get that map of foreclosures?

BTW, it's true that Bush is an amnesty whore. But it's also true that it's been Republicans in the House and Senate who have fought him on that.

[Pella5000]

Excuse me Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac...I had a dyslexic moment

[Pella5000]

The dems were caught red handed on CSPAN covering up Freddie Mae and Fannie Mac....don't like they are angels because they arent.

[hollywoodnight]

A racist globalist anti American President.

He discriminated against AMERICANS.

BUSH IS A MODERN DAY RED COAT!

[priorzola]

Still the deregulation of financial institutions coupled with Bush's ownership society AND Americans as a whole turning homes, meant as long-term investments into short-term investments like they were as easy to unload as stocks ON TOP OF the expansion of housing and commercial markets overseas and the relative stagnation of the US market all together provided the perfect storm for this crisis. Americans too often look for simple answers (ie drilling) for complex problems & thus blame the poor.

[fromthepen]

I believe there's a high probability you will end up being very disappointed if Obama wins and doesn't do what you think he will. Only change I ever see election after election is the increasing salaries of both sides, and increasing government, and higher taxes.

[priorzola]

Paying taxes (when we're at war) is actually a prudent thing. AND OBAMA'S plan actually calls for less taxes on the Middle Class than McCain's. Our country is less and less able to compete (and this crisis is only heightening that fact) because of our nation's unwillingness to reinvest in itself and to reward the very wealthy who manipulate more money from us (higher gas prices, insurance costs, tuition payments) as long as they don't call it taxes. The economy tends to do better under Democrats

[Pella5000]

No the economy does not tend to do better under democrats. The media makes you believe that. When you tax the rich, you also tax business and services. When the rich pays higher in taxes they cannot re-invest in much of their business because they owe more money to Washington...Therefore prices go up, Services go up, and the rich have to cut jobs.

oh yeah and Remember. the Republicans ran congress for the better part of the 90's and worked with Bill Clinton to have a great economy.

[priorzola]

That's the TRICKLE DOWN theory which this last two weeks has seen the beginning of it's ugly demise. THE RICH have been cutting QUALITY JOBS for the last 30 years that theory has been implemented. Before TRICKLE DOWN theory the number one employer in America was GM. After Trickle Down theory the number one employer is Wal-mart. Which salary enables you to BUY A HOME and SEND A KID TO COLLEGE? Take the blinders off and look around. THE THEORY FAILED and those who continue to support it are fools.

[Pella5000]

Oh so then why do your people claim that the economy flourished under bill clinton who over saw these economic policies that you hate so much??? I don't see you blaming him.

And if Trickle Down has failed...how come it has out lasted your beloved Marxism?

[priorzola]

I do blame him (and protested against NAFTA, which has proven to be a failure). CLINTON caved too much to the GOP hoping that that would get them off his back. It didn't work and the still played politics w/ impeachment. He didn't learn the first rule of neo-cons (and their trickle down theory), they don't want to simple defeat the Democrats and the working and Middle Class, they want to annihilate it. Still CLINTON balanced budgets by cutting defense spending and not fighting lengthy wars.

[priorzola]

AND I don't claim we are Marxist, as we were not before TRICKLE DOWN theory. REAGAN didn't invent CAPITALISM, he just ushered in a new highly deregulated philosophy about it. WE DO NOW and HAVE ALWAYS (since the Depression) lived in a MIXED ECONOMY. To willfully ignore all the subsidies (food, student loans, small business loans, mortgages, roads, schools, fire dept and police dept, medicare and social security, etc) that the GOVT pays for is to be WILLFULLY IGNORANT about how our economy works.

[priorzola]

Because for Bush the only decent economic indicator over the last 8 yrs was the once hot housing market, anyone who watched HGTV in that time knew that the home loan industry went from encouraging long-term investments to short-term turnovers (including flipping and expensive home equity loans) to OVER invest in your house beyond what you could get out of it. FLUCTUATING MARKETS (that didn't much effect low income buyers) is the source of problem, too. The Middle Class needs to bear it's blame.

[fromthepen]

Bush, Rove, Democrats, leaders of these failing orgainizations, people who over-extented, and immigrants all bear fault. Take this video for what it is; a highlight on several of the players that deserve blame and have not received much as of yet.

[priorzola]

I will and I appreciate that show proof that while vying to be "a compassionate conservative" (ie pander to the Latin vote) Bush promoted policies that were one element (but not the pe-eminent element) in the collapse. These policies can and have worked when a)there is oversight and b)financial instutions don't see it an opportunity to exploit people with predatory lending tactics and fine print charges(which effected Middle Class too). Obama introduced legislation against this kind of tactic.

[priorzola]

WHY are MIDDLE CLASS PEOPLE and international banks FAILING? It wasn't just that these loans were given, it's that bigger rollers like Lehmann Bros and Goldman Sachs wanted in on the action. This is due to DEREGULATION of the financial institutions spear headed by Phil Gramm (McCain's advisor/lending profiteer). Ask yourself this, WHY are investment banks (known for their high risks, high yield tactics) in on the American housing market when home loans are not supposed to be those kind of loans?

[TTFMjock]

All of these "initiatives" (read: ham-handed government interventions) are the opposite of deregulation, and they are at the root of the problem. If HUD does not force the GSEs to put up a flood of bad loans and thus encourage flipping and other forms of speculation, then there is no housing bubble. W/O a housing bubble, there is no irrational speculation on the part of the (admittedly evil) bankers, no crash, and no bailout.

[Bandtrip50]

Bush looks haggard today in comparison to this photo. What happened?

[BILLJALDEN]

The same thing that happened to us - 6 more years of his presidency; 6 more years of listening to this goon. Yes, Bush is to blame; and Barney Frank (D); and Maxine Waters (D); and Mel Martinez (R - who was Secretary of HUD at the time); and so many more D's and R's. For those of you looking to blame just one side, sorry - this mess was caused believers in open borders and multiculturalism on both sides of the aisle. The key word in multiculturalism, after all, is CULT.

[fromthepen]

Well said, sir.

[Bandtrip50]

I agree! Well said!

[DanSavage99]

This is good, but it doesn't tell the whole story.

Nothing about Bush's Partnership for Prosperity Agreement (with Mexico) or the New Alliance Task Force.

These were the tools that Bush used to give hundreds of billions of US taxpayer dollars to millions of Mexican illegal aliens.

[ExZonie]

Homeownership (percentage-wise) is now less than it was in 1998. Great work, government.

[nesnman]

Why don't you show the video of Bush telling leaders that Fannie Mae was in trouble?

[fromthepen]

nesnman, because that video just states what we are in trouble with. My video shows why we are in trouble, and who aided in this situation. Your comment is a typical deflection debate tactic. Stick to the topic and you can not avoid the unpleasant fact (the fact that caused me to leave the R party for the "I" party) that they ALL are rotten.

[nesnman]

So why did Barney Frank say that Fannie Mae was sound?

[fromthepen]

Nesnman, that's your 2nd deflection debate technique instance. Stick to your original point. I need to show that bush helped bankrupt Freddie and Fannie first. Politicians always do stuff to screw us, then they say we need to fix this mess (that the other side caused). The other video I mentioned clearly states that Democrats are just as much at fault. I even added a callout at the beginning to reflect this.

Free yourself from the shackles of party affiliation and admit Bush was just as guilty.

[nesnman]

Barney Franks own hometown Newspaper blamed him. (Barney Frank.)

[fromthepen]

It is pointless to converse with you further. You seem perfectly content staying inside your ideological bubble.

[nesnman]

Can't back up your lies ?

[rottncf]

Hard to deny that at least in this situation Bush has been a complete disaster....almost as bad as the dumbocrats who precipitated the whole thing.

[jessicabrodie]

So, what does Bush get for "reaching across the aisle" and advocating feel good, liberal, "compassionate" democrat policies? Failure.

There is no working with liberals anymore. They are to be defeated and marginalized. They are enemies of this country and seek its destruction.

[Jonadem1]

Jokers!

These arrogant (investment) bankers, who earn bonuses and get paid well, should be punished and learn how to be humble! It's time for them to stand up on their feet instead of begging from small people who earn less, further try to use the tax- payers money! Real Greed..Shame on you!

[sunryse1]

Amen! CEO's of corporations making millions and getting out while the ship is sinking and we are forced to raise it up. Ridiculous. I am for prosecution of these people. Fraud. It just plain fraud.

[KarasCyborg]

Well it was called the Community ReInvestment Act, I guess we're re-investing !!