Some More Heads To Be Pulled Out of Asses

In today's Murdoch Street Journal, Charles Calomiris and Peter Wallison lay down the case for blaming the Wall Street Meltdown on Democrats, Congress, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Incredulously, not one Republican was castigated, and, in particular, one conspicuous Republican.

The Commander Guy ... The court-appointed 43rd President, George W. Bush.

Stumblin' Bumblin' John McCain has been beating this drum lately as well.

Much like Stumblin' Bumblin' Johnny throws rocks at Barack Obama, over "The Surge", while completely ignoring the first five-plus years of the invasion and occupation of Iraq, Calomiris and Wallison also choose not to look too far in the rear-view mirror.

Not once, not a single word in their "Blame Fannie Mae and Congress" do they mention, reference or otherwise bring up the centerpiece of the Bush Grindhouse's planned legacy - The Ownership Society.

Directly from the Bush Grindhouse, "For Immediate Release - Office of the Press Secretary, August 9, 2004"

Blame Fact Sheet: America's Ownership Society: Expanding Opportunities

"...if you own something, you have a vital stake in the future of our country. The more ownership there is in America, the more vitality there is in America, and the more people have a vital stake in the future of this country."

-President George W. Bush, June 17, 2004

Expanding Homeownership. The President believes that homeownership is the cornerstone of America's vibrant communities and benefits individual families by building stability and long-term financial security. In June 2002, President Bush issued America's Homeownership Challenge to the real estate and mortgage finance industries to encourage them to join the effort to close the gap that exists between the homeownership rates of minorities and non-minorities. The President also announced the goal of increasing the number of minority homeowners by at least 5.5 million families before the end of the decade. Under his leadership, the overall U.S. homeownership rate in the second quarter of 2004 was at an all time high of 69.2 percent. Minority homeownership set a new record of 51 percent in the second quarter, up 0.2 percentage point from the first quarter and up 2.1 percentage points from a year ago. President Bush's initiative to dismantle the barriers to homeownership includes:

* American Dream Downpayment Initiative, which provides down payment assistance to approximately 40,000 low-income families;
* Affordable Housing. The President has proposed the Single-Family Affordable Housing Tax Credit, which would increase the supply of affordable homes;
* Helping Families Help Themselves. The President has proposed increasing support for the Self-Help Homeownership Opportunities Program; and
* Simplifying Homebuying and Increasing Education. The President and HUD want to empower homebuyers by simplifying the home buying process so consumers can better understand and benefit from cost savings. The President also wants to expand financial education efforts so that families can understand what they need to do to become homeowners.

Can't have an Ownership Society if no one is buying and owning anything.

You gotta move some product, get the numbers up, rack-up testimonials, create the soundbites and talking points to build up the program.

So, however Fannie and Freddie were managed and/or mismanaged, they had a mandate to sell the legacy, the Ownership Society and sell they did.

As did the rest of the dwarfs, finks, phonies and frauds on Wall Street, dissecting it every which way, so as many cronies as possible could get a piece of the money pie.

Here's some riffs on the great "Ownership Society";

• Flashback: In 2004 Bush Campaigned For Re-Election On The Backs Of Subprime Mortgages
• Test Drive Suggests Bush's "Ownership Society" May Be a Lemon
• Is This Your Ownership Society?

Robert Reich's "What Ownership Society?"

You won’t be hearing much at the Republican Convention about jobs and wages, because job growth has stalled and wages are stagnant. But you will hear about something Republicans are now calling the "Ownership Society." The notion is to expand private ownership through more tax cuts on capital investments, tax credits for saving and privatized Social Security.

Face it: The Republican "Ownership Society" is hokum. Ownership of America is now more concentrated than since the days of the Robber Barons of the 19th century. The richest 1 percent of America owns more than the the bottom 90 percent put together.

Calomiris and Wallison also leave out that it was still, at that time, a Republican-dominated Congress, that was rubber-stamping anything and everything coming out of the Bush Grindhouse.

Calomiris and Wallison also were forgetful in mentioning that two close aides to the Republican nominee for President this year, were retained by Fannie and Freddie, as lobbyists, to, among other things, resist regulation and oversight.

Yesterday, the NYT laid it out about Stumblin' Bumblin' Johnny's campaign manager, Rick Davis (to which, the Rove Rats running McCain's campaign whined about).

Today, Bloomberg enlightens us to the person Stumblin' Bumblin' Johnny has laying down the carpet for his planned presidency.

Calomiris and Wallison, both, are from the American Enterprise Institute, which has been, for all intents-and-purpose, a second West Wing for the Bush Grindhouse.

Between Hank Paulson's attempted coup, Faux News, and others, laying down the meme of blaming the people who bought houses during this period (and many of them, first in line, as to getting royally screwed), this drivel blaming everyone but the Republicans, break out the umbrellas, as you can expect significant more bullshit to be thrown before the week is over.