A Canard Worth Refuting

President Obama, in the first debate and elsewhere, is fond of reciting a line with variations that go something like this:

          Gov. Romney, if elected, would return the country to the policies that got us into the mess we’re in.

          This position, blaming George W. Bush for the poor state of the economy since 2008 – and thus it is not Obama’s fault or responsibility – has well served the President’s political standing.

According to a recent poll, over three and a half years since President Bush left office, a majority of Americans blame him, not the incumbent – for our nation’s economic woes. 

But the majority is wrong – as any fair observer of the 2008 economic debacle would agree.

Sub-prime mortgages going bad in huge numbers (which were held by major financial institutions such as Lehman Brothers and Goldman-Sachs) started a domino effect which brought our economy to its knees.  But what were sub-prime mortgages and who sponsored them? 

Reckless Endangerment, a 2011 book written by a New York Times business reporter explains and points its finger directly at leading Democrats.  It is both an illuminating and depressing read.

Liberal Democratic representative Barney Frank was the leading Congressional catalyst for expanding home ownership in the U.S.  How would that be done?  People who met traditional – and time tested – lending standards could already get loans while those with financial situations that fell short of such requirements could not. 

So what to do?  Simple  Mandate that standards for prospective borrowers be lowered.  With both carrots and sticks, Congress and the Federal National Mortgage Insurance Company (Fannie Mae) brought life to the sub-prime mortgage industry.

Noteworthy is that major sub-prime players such as Fannie Mae and Goldman Sachs (all grossing billions in fees from such loans) were big contributors to the Democratic Party and Barack Obama. 

So why are we letting the Democrats get away with deflecting the blame for the nation’s economic woes from themselves and onto Bush? 

Poor George W.  He disappointed conservatives in many ways, but he doesn’t deserve this.

There is a far broader concern, too.  Governor Romney is placed on the defensive by the false allegations that Bush – a fellow Republican – helped cause the Great Recession.  It’s a lie.  Turn the tables.  Assign the blame where it properly belongs – on the Left.   That was the source for irresponsible economic policies that indeed put us in the mess we’re in.