"The Political Elephant in the Room"

"In the Nation, a publication on the political left, commentator George Zornick ridiculed the Democratic platform's boasting of a 'crackdown' on the fraudulent lenders who helped create the subprime crisis, noting that 'no high-ranking Wall Street officials or firms have been held responsible for the subprime catastrophe' that they facilitated by buying and securitizing poorly underwritten, toxic mortgages.
"The Republican platform, meanwhile, blamed the whole subprime mess and housing collapse on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, even though private investment banks such as Lehman Bros. and Bear Stearns played far larger roles in the securitization money machine that fueled the subprime mania. The roles of Wall Street and the big banks get no direct criticism by the Republicans, even though the private secondary market they control would be the foundation for any new system of mortgage finance under a Romney administration."

Kenneth R. Harney in the Los Angeles Times criticizes both parties housing policies.