As far as I'm concerned, Peggy Noonan is one of the finest writers in America.
I make my son read her editorials in the Wall Street Journal (he hates it) ... (I don't care).
Here's her analysis of what went wrong with the mortgage market.
Click anywhere below to get the entire piece.
You, for political reasons, both Republicans and Democrats, finagled the mortgage system so that people who make, like, zero dollars a year were given mortgages for $600,000 houses.
You got to run around and crow about how under your watch everyone became a homeowner.
You shook down the taxpayer and hoped for the best.
"Democrats did it because they thought it would make everyone Democrats:
Republicans did it because they thought it would make everyone Republicans:
'I'm a homeowner, I've got a stake, don't raise my property taxes, get off my lawn!'
"You're finaglers and we're finaglers.
I play for dollars, you play for votes.
In our own ways we're all thieves.
If there were any justice, we'd be forced to duel, with the peasants of America holding our cloaks.
Only we'd both make sure we missed, wouldn't we?"
I think that just about covers it.