Vicissitudes And Constants

More About Fannie And Freddie
Regulators were concerned about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2004: there were congressional hearings. Members of one party were pushing for more regulation. Members of the other party thought - and said - that everything was fine, and expressed their anger at the regulators.

Here is a video - it is less than nine minutes long.

Who is responsible for the current crisis?

I note that this video repeats the claim that Franklin Raines, the former head of Fannie Mae, advises Obama on economic matters. This claim is disputed:

U.S. Presidential candidate Senator John McCain has sought to tie Raines to McCain's opponent Barack Obama, in an effort to discredit Obama on economic issues. McCain says that Raines advises Obama. Raines and Obama state that he does not.

Obama is the 2nd highest recipient of contributions from Fannie Mae employees of any American politician, receiving over $126,000 since 1989 - 95% from individuals at Fannie Mae the remainder from PAC contributions.

On July 16, 2008, The Washington Post reported that Franklin Raines had "taken calls from Barack Obama's presidential campaign seeking his advice on mortgage and housing policy matters." Also, in an editorial in August 27, 2008 titled "Tough Decision Coming", the Washington Post editorial staff wrote that "Two members of Mr. Obama's political circle, James A. Johnson and Franklin D. Raines, are former chief executives of Fannie Mae."

On September 18, 2008, John McCain's Campaign, published a campaign ad that quoted the Washington Post's claim that Franklin Raines advises Barack Obama on economic matters. The ad also notes that "Raines made millions and then left Fannie Mae while it was under investigation for accounting irregularities". Both Raines and the Obama Campaign claim that Raines is not an Obama advisor and has never advised Senator Obama. When the claim that Raines was an Obama advisor appeared multiple times in the Washington Post (first July 16th) months before the McCain ad, the Obama campaign didn't seek a correction. However, they did seek a correction from the Post after the ad appeared.

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