While talking to the secretary at a school today, she said to me in passing, “I don’t want another 8 years of a Republican.” But who really is to blame?
Gary Bauer wrote in his End of Day Report:
In recent days, two Democrats have expressed regret that they did not take more seriously Republican warnings about the abuses at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that greatly contributed to the current financial crisis. Last night on Hannity & Colmes, a statement was read from Alabama Democrat Rep. Artur Davis. Here is an excerpt of Rep. Davis’ statement:
“Like a lot of my Democratic colleagues, I was too slow to appreciate the recklessness of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. …in retrospect I should have heeded the concerns raised by their regulator in 2004. Frankly I wish my Democratic colleagues would admit that when it comes to Fannie and Freddie, we were wrong.â€
During an interview last week on Good Morning America, Bill Clinton said, “I think the responsibility that the Democrats have may rests more in resisting any efforts by Republicans in the Congress … to put some standards and tighten up a little on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.†The McCain campaign is using that statement in an ad.
But in politics, perception is reality, and if voters perceive that this meltdown is a result of “eight years of Bush/Republican policies,†guess who wins? Historically, whenever the economy is tough, it’s the party occupying the White House that gets the blame. That’s just reality.