In 1992 George Bush Sr. ran against William Jefferson Clinton when it was “the economy stupid.”  The last market crash was during the Reagan administration in 1987 when market indexes dropped 43% in seven days.  George Bush 41 also left the nation in a recession when he left office in 1992.  It took democrat Bill Clinton to bring us out of  that recession.  Like father, like son, Bush 43 has twice upped his father by leaving the country in dire straights while he leaves office with his tail between his legs.  It was Republican control of all three branches of government that got us into this mess, now it’s time for the Democrats to come in and clean up. Putting a Republican in charge is like

Since 1929, Republicans and Democrats have each controlled the presidency for nearly 40 years. So which party has been better for American pocketbooks and capitalism as a whole? Well, here’s an experiment: imagine that during these years you had to invest exclusively under either Democratic or Republican administrations. How would you have fared?  SEE results

As of Friday, a $10,000 investment in the S.& P. stock market index* would have grown to $11,733 if invested under Republican presidents only, although that would be $51,211 if we exclude Herbert Hoover’s presidency during the Great Depression. Invested under Democratic presidents only, $10,000 would have grown to $300,671 at a compound rate of 8.9 percent over nearly 40 years.

First, the continued meme of the Right that it was the democrats support of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae that caused this economic meltdown is bogus.  What Republicans conveniently forget is that George W. Bush warned and pushed for more oversight of Freddie and Fannie back in 2001.  Did I mention that the Republicans were in control of Congress at the time and for five whole years after Bush’s clarion call.  Oh, and by Republican control, I include Sen. John McCain in that group.  Yes, McCain sat in Congress for five years after the leader of his party sounded the alarm about Freddie and Fannie and did absolutely nothing.  Did I further mention that the Republican party controlled Congress for 12 years prior to the Democrats winning the majority just two years ago in 2006.  And, five months after Democrats took control of Congress, Democrats passed a bill regulating Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  Nuff said.

It was the private sector, not the government backed entities that caused the subprime meltdown.  Freddie and Fannie were not at fault for this disaster 

Federal Reserve Board data show that:

• More than 84 percent of the subprime mortgages in 2006 were issued by private lending institutions.
• Private firms made nearly 83 percent of the subprime loans to low- and moderate-income borrowers that year.
• Only one of the top 25 subprime lenders in 2006 was directly subject to the housing law that’s being lambasted by conservative critics.