When Warnings Fall on Deaf Ears

The mainstream media would have you believe that President George Bush is responsible for the economic crisis. The Republicans point fingers at the Democratic Congress. Regardless of which party you are aligned with, you are certainly tiring of the finger pointing. So who is correct?

In law school 101 they teach you to look through the static to find the facts and build your case around them. While members on both sides of the aisle are partly to blame, it would be disingenuine to claim that no one warned of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Numerous warnings by President Bush and high ranking officials inside his cabinet fell on deaf ears, often being pushed to the background by Democratic Senators and Representatives who were, when viewed in the light most complimentary to them, trying to make sure low income families could be approved for home mortgages. In fact John McCain even sponsored legislation on May 25, 2006 to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but the Democratic controlled Congress, including Barack Obama, voted it down.

The Republicans are not without fault in this fiasco. President Bush should have taken a page from Ronald Reagan's book...when all else fails - address the people. The bully-pulpit could have been used to raise attention and cause citizens to put pressure on their respective Senators and Representatives if he was that convinced of the cause.

So now America finds itself in a financial pickle because it's government has put it there. Now the taxpayers face a ominous decision of $700 billion of taxes or economic crisis. And now the same people that screwed the pooch are asking to babysit the kids. Thank goodness for the House Republicans and the 95 or so House Democrats who did something novel for a change - LISTENED.