Where's the Outrage at Fannie Mae Execs?

When Enron went under, people wanted Ken Lay hung from the nearest tree. Same thing with Bernie Ebbers and Richard Scrushy.

Today's collapse of Lehman and Merrill derive from one primary problem - the riskiness of mortgages - backed up by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. For years, the management of these companies were fraudulent, incompetent, overpaid, in denial,....and largely well-connected Democratic politicians. And for that reason, there is no pressure to indict Jim Johnson, Franklin Raines or Jamie Gorelick. If you think this is an exaggerated claim, ask yourself whether the reaction would be similar if, say, Karl Rove were CEO of Fannie Mae.

If anyone suggests that the current problem stems from a lack of regulation, just keep in mind that it is precisely because of "regulated" entities in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that catalyzed this gigantic meltdown. And because of their political influence, these entities were allowed to guarantee mortgage loans that never should have been granted in the first place.