Obama is Innocent!

Obama, Dodd, Barney Franks, Pelosi...all these "leaders" are under attack for our problems in the economy. That anger is misplaced. There are several basic errors that have led to this current mess. The people involved made decisions based on their own gain without any regard for the social implications. "Material abundance without character." People took 125% on a house knowing they would never uphold their end of the bargain. Second, the ingenuity of people--especially dishonest people--will always outstrip that of the regulators. The regulators will always be a half a generation behind; they will always be fighting the last crisis. Finally, the debt/deficit crisis is not contemporary, it is the result of errors that are several generations old and these problems have been faced and deferred every year since. Political errors voraciously accepted by the public. These foolish efforts at undergraduate economic manipulation and social engineering--aside from the corruption--are founded on obvious, obvious demographics that would never allow them to be successful. That does not excuse the current leaders who will continue the errors, if allowed. But the point here is that these errors have become institutionalized. They must be solved, the byzantine mess must be unwound carefully and with control. Otherwise they will be unwound haphazardly and in chaos.