Valerie Jarrett: Bob Herbert is 'Simply Wrong'

[girl gone mad]

20. Take Bush out of the equation.

by December, he was a lame duck and had nothing to do with it any longer. It was between Paulson and the incoming administration. As Frank says, all the Obama administration had to do was pick up the phone and call Paulson. The White House refused to do so.

This is right in line with other things they were doing at the time which were so frustrating to those of use trying to get real, smart action on the economic front. It wasn't the first or the last time the WH refused to pursue cramdowns, for example. Also, don't forget that they had promised during the campaign that they would demand more from the banks before doling out TARP II funds, but those promises never amounted to anything. Obama had so much leverage and never used it. As a result, we let the banks loot the national treasure while they were held completely unaccountable and the American people were hung out to dry.