Responsibility for the Financial Crisis

Much has been made of the White House's supposed role in creating the current financial crisis. While I don't understand the causes well enough to attribute blame, it should be noted that the administration did try to pass these changes 5 years ago and was rebuffed by Congress. In particular, note the comments by Rep. Barney Frank who now seems to be the one who'll save the U.S. from the financial failure:

Snificant details must still be worked out before Congress can approve a bill. 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.''

Also via David Frum, here are some recent Federal Election Commission reports on donations by

• Richard Fuld of Lehman Brothers,
  
• Alan Schwartz of Bear Stearns, and
  
• Lloyd Blankfein of Goldman Sachs.
  

Not sure whose hands are still clean . . .