This is interesting: While listening to conservative talk radio I heard one personality rail against the Democrats for this mortgage crisis. He blamed the liberals and their policies for forcing Mortgage lenders to give loans to people with bad credit. This is reason for the failure of companies like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Well not so fast Mr. personality, in October of 2002 President George Bush called for lending institutions to relax their income and good credit criteria so that minorities and low income families could have access to homes just as nice as the more well off and good credit applicants.

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 15, 2002
Fannie Mae Chairman and CEO, Franklin D. Raines today joined President Bush and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Mel Martinez, and other industry leaders and non-profit organizations, for a housing summit to promote the Administration's proposal to expand minority homeownership.
Fannie Mae's ten-point plan to help advance the Bush Administration's homeownership proposals was included in the Blueprint for the American Dream document released by HUD today.
"Fannie Mae commends President Bush and HUD's continued efforts to make minority homeownership a national priority through today's housing summit," said Raines. "As we know, homeownership builds stronger families, communities, and improves our quality of life. Through the expansion of minority homeownership, the Administration will advance housing equality in America."
"The Blueprint for the American Dream that we unveiled today is the response to the `homeownership challenge' President Bush issued in June to increase minority homeownership," said HUD Secretary Mel Martinez. "Our partners, representing every segment of the affordable housing industry, are committed to working together to achieve the President's goal of adding 5.5 million new minority homeowners by the end of the decade."
In his February State of the Union address President Bush called for "broader homeownership, especially among minorities." In June, President Bush challenged both the public and private sector to be a partner in his crusade to create 5.5 million new minority homeowners by the end of the decade.

So, I need to call the radio host and tell him to add Bush's name to the like' s of Clinton and Cuomo, as leaders who were for lowering the lending standards. (although Clinton and Cuomo weren't for the removal of oversight and regulation that led to the questionable practices of bundling loans and selling them several times over.) I would tell the host that deregulation and the lowering of standards for mortgage loans resulted in the seizing up of available credit on Wall Street. Now we're supposed to give these same lousy money managers 700 billion or more to. . . then the host would pod me down and talk over me.

DaG out