Monday, September 08, 2008

Palin's "Gaffe"   [Ramesh Ponnuru]

HuffPo:

Speaking before voters in Colorado Springs, the Republican vice presidential nominee claimed that lending giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had "gotten too big and too expensive to the taxpayers." The companies, as McClatchy reported, "aren't taxpayer funded but operate as private companies. The takeover may result in a taxpayer bailout during reorganization."

Economists and analysts pounced on the misstatement, saying it demonstrated a lack of understanding about one of the key economic issues likely to face the next administration.

"You would like to think that someone who is going to be vice president and conceivable president would know what Fannie and Freddie do," said Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research. "These are huge institutions and they are absolutely central to our country's mortgage debt. To not have a clue what they do doesn't speak well for her, I'd say."

But Palin is right! Fannie and Freddie are too big, and they have become very expensive to bail out. McClatchy, HuffPo, and Baker are all blowing smoke.

Update: Spruiell has more. 

09/08 02:11 PMShare