“There’s really no market discipline on these two companies.”

No shit, Sherlock.

The word on the center-right blogosphere is that the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight was kept on a short leash by the Democrats in the Senate. Unlike other regulatory agencies, OFHEO was not given a set yearly budget; instead, Congress approved its budget yearly, keeping OFHEO subject to Congressional pressure. Reading this November ’07 interview with Director James B. Lockhart III (late of the Social Security Administration), though, makes you wonder.

Did they really think the market was not overpriced? Was the Bush Administration “in on it,” being clueless or genuinely afraid of not appearing to support minority homeownership? Or are they just that stoic in taking all these hits to get the votes to keep taxes low and support the war effort in Iraq and Afghanistan?

The New York Times article indeed pegs quite a few Democrats, including our bête noir, Barney Frank, but the Administration seems almost complicit in supporting Fannie and Freddie in their mad rush to bankruptcy. Is it really all that sinister? Or did the Administration have its hands full enough staving off even more disasterous Democratic money-spooges to their favorite failure?

For some laughs, the titles of the “Most Emailed” columnists at the Times:

• Maureen Dowd: Sarah’s Pompom Palaver
• Frank Rich: Pitbull Palin Mauls McCain
• Nicholas D. Kristof: Racism Without Racists (guess who Nicky’s writing about!)
• Bob Herbert: Palin’s Alternate Universe

“Newspaper of Record,” indeed.

Also, read the first page of Thomas L. Friedman’s “Swedish Spoken Here.” How does someone who claims to be an internationalist get off invoking such xenophobic dread in his first two paragraphs? OMG, Swedes and Germans are buying things in America and sending them home!! AIIEEEEE!!

The only two articles that sound good are “Capitalism to the Rescue” and “Dick Cheney, Role Model,” but neither are what you would think. If Al Gore had used the Vice Presidency as Cheney has, Pinchloaf Sulzberger would have had to change his underwear.

Barney Frank is Elmer Fudd from the Universe where Spock has a beard.