Wrong question, NPR

"The headlines of the past day and a half, no matter how much Democrats would love to spin them, don't look especially good. Sen. Byron Dorgan, Democrat of North Dakota, announces he will retire. Gov. Bill Ritter, Democrat of Colorado, says he won't run again. And now comes the news that Christopher Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat who chairs the Senate Banking Committee, declared at noon today that he will pack it in after five terms -- longer than any Connecticut senator in history.

Yesterday afternoon also came the news that Michigan Lt. Gov. John Cherry, the clear Democratic frontrunner to succeed term-limited Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D), withdrew from the race.

And all this comes a week after a freshman Democratic congressman from northern Alabama -- Parker Griffith -- switched to the GOP. It's the first time in history that the district will be represented by a Republican in the House.

What to make of all this?" NPR Political Junkie

Here are my questions. How much are they being paid? What think tank will take them in? Will Reid be next? For whom will they consult? Lobbyists have never been more welcome at the White House. Dodd should be in jail, not in the Senate.

All you have to do is Google, "Dodd Ritter Dorgan"--Cherry and Griffith were by-products.

Atlantic

Air America

Beltway Blips

PrimeBuzz

Pot Dodd accuses Kettle Madoff

"The SEC, already faulted in connection with the collapse of Bear Stearns Cos. and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., now faces criticism for failing to detect what Madoff termed “a giant Ponzi scheme.” Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat, and Senator Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican, have questioned its vigilance in enforcing securities laws." Bloomberg

And where was Dodd during the banking failures, during the Fannie Mae melt down, during the scummy scammy non-profit housing agencies blackmailing the banks in the name of diverse neighborhoods and multicultural mortgages? We've got the foxhound watching the fox watching the hen house with nary a yelp or growl.

Setting the Record Straight on GSE's role in the economy

Since we're in for another round of FDR type "fixer-uppers" to weigh down the economy, the response to who's at fault is up at the White House Web page. Even if you're an avid Bush basher, you really ought to take a look, because your 401-k or 403-b has been just as damaged as mine, but for some reason, you just might think that by raising taxes, you'll get some back. Don't think it works that way--at least it didn't in the 1930s.

The chronology starts in April 2001 with the FY 2002 budget, "the size of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is "a potential problem," because "financial trouble of a large GSE could cause strong repercussions in financial markets, affecting Federally insured entities and economic activity." (2002 Budget Analytic Perspectives, pg. 142)" Democrats forget Bush inherited a recession and was probably trying to figure out how to fix it. Having poor people borrow both the mortgage and the down payment from the government was not a healthy way to go. Foreclosures were already showing that.

Read all the way through to August 2007 (chronology ends in September 2008), the last time I think this steam roller could have been halted and around the time I started blogging about it: "August: President Bush emphatically calls on Congress to pass a reform package for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, saying "first things first when it comes to those two institutions. Congress needs to get them reformed, get them streamlined, get them focused, and then I will consider other options." (President George W. Bush, Press Conference, the White House, 8/9/07)" I even wrote a poem about it in September 2007--not only were Barney and Chris not listening to the President, they weren't listening to Norma! Once the Democrats controlled Congress, there was no turning this thing around. Now they get the whole sticky wad.

Obama's team was much faster at taking advantage of this problem (by lying) than was the disorganized, flabby McCain team, so most of you bought into the, "it's the President/Republicans fault" meme and that action was needed immediately. I've spent more time deciding what to have for Thanksgiving Dinner than these Porkers did figuring this one out. We'll stay in this mess until someone smart about not raising taxes figures it out. I'm already retired, so please hurry up!