To the editor:

Is it not strange to witness the lack of any hue and cry for a Congressional investigation into the failure of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? The silence is deafening.

According to the Democrats, this a major financial crisis, the biggest since the depression. So where is the demand for an accounting? When have the Democrats ever missed an opportunity to blame Republicans for some debacle either real or imagined? There is not a shadow of a penumbra of a hint that the Democrats want any light shined on this fiasco.

Let’s look at some history. New York Times Sept. 30, 1999: The New York Times published an article by Steven A. Holmes that begins with the title, “Fannie Mae Eases Credit To Aid Mortgage Lending.” The article reports that the Clinton administration placed intense pressure on Fannie Mae (and Fannie Mae complied) to expand mortgage loans among low- and moderate-income people.

New York Times, Sept. 11, 2003: “The Bush administration today recommended the most significant regulatory overhaul in the housing finance industry since the savings and loan crisis a decade ago.” The Bush administration tried to head off the increasingly out-of-control Fannie Mae/housing problem, but the Congressional Democrats succeeded in killing any suggestions for fixing the problem.

Do you suppose that this entire financial meltdown has been caused and nurtured by … the Democrats? Nah. We know it was Bush and McCain. Don’t we?

David F. Hiestand

Langley