That’s Going To Hurt

This should sting. On CNN an interview: Dodd: ‘I have a lot of reservations’ about bailout plan

[“American Morning’s” Kiran] Chetry: You yourself said this is not a natural disaster, and a lot of people have been asking, “Why didn’t Congress see this coming?” In fact, this is a quote from Henry Paulson, the treasury secretary, back in July. This was during the time of the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bailout. People thought that was the beginning and the end of this.

He writes: “Remember our economy has got very strong long-term fundamentals, solid fundamentals. Your policymakers are here; regulators were being very vigilant.” How can the argument be made that they were vigilant when we see the bottom fall out of the market?

[Sen. Christopher] Dodd: Back in 2005, [then-Rep.] Mike Oxley, along with [Rep.] Barney Frank and [Sen.] Paul Sarbanes, tried to do just that. The administration opposed the bill, and it was defeated on a party-line vote here in the Senate.

I know the history very, very well. When you had cops on the beat not doing their job, basically an eight-year coffee break by and large. Where you had legislation on the books and legislation not being enforced. Where you had regulators sitting back as loans were being made with no documentation, luring people into subprime mortgages, predatory lenders taking advantage of the situation that’s how this all unfolded. It’s not a mystery.

This is CNN’s “happy talk” morning show, and Ms. Chetry tees up Paulson so Senator Dodd can kick him through the uprights. It’s almost like the networks have decided to do their jobs on this story, or their parent corporations have lost a lot of money in this mess.