Romneymania keeps sweeping America.

[Governor NVGonzalez]

"The American people probably aren't going to fall in love with Mitt Romney."

-- House Speaker John Boehner, quoted by Roll Call.

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2012/07/07/bonus_quote_of_the_day.html

[Torie]

Yes it's true. I don't love Mittens, and he doesn't love me. We are not going to bed each other.

[Keystone Phil]

To be fair, America wasn't swooning over John Kerry and he came within a state of winning the Presidency. That being said, I still believe the enthusiasm (or lack thereof) is going to be an issue in this race.

[BaldEagle1991]

I guess Black people are more well liked than white Mormons.

[Emperor SJoyce]

I am supporting.  OBAMA 2012 

Does your all-caps declaration of your support of a failed Presidency have anything to do with enthusiam issues among the Republicans?

[Chareth Cutestory]

To be fair, America wasn't swooning over John Kerry and he came within a state of winning the Presidency. That being said, I still believe the enthusiasm (or lack thereof) is going to be an issue in this race.

I would agree, but the mega-donor enthusiasm battle is extremely volatile at this point. Without a strong big-bucks backing, either side could crash and burn. Of course Romney has the contingency plan of being super massively rich should he suffer a minor crisis of support. I think the skepticism among Obama's would be backers counteracts his enthusiasm advantage among the mass of actual voters.

[Jbrase]

We have two visions on a failed presidency. I think this president came into office with a mess and he tried to fix everything but your guys in congress kept saying no. How about you tell your friends in congress to pass the jobs bill.

He is a Libertarian, we have about 2 whole congressmen who qualify as "our guys" in Congress. You are new here it looks so I'll just assume you thought he was a Republican and explain the color for avatars, Blue = GOP,Red = Dem, Green = indy, Dark Green = Green, Orange = Other and Yellow = sane.  

[Emperor SJoyce]

I am supporting.  OBAMA 2012 

Does your all-caps declaration of your support of a failed Presidency have anything to do with enthusiam issues among the Republicans?

We have two visions on a failed presidency. I think this president came into office with a mess and he tried to fix everything but your guys in congress kept saying no. How about you tell your friends in congress to pass the jobs bill.

My guy in Congress is 21-termer Bill Young (R-Indian Shores), and he'd gladly support your jobs bill if it gave a few billion to AM General or another campaign contributor. If you mean people I agree with, then like JBrase said, we've got maybe 15 guys in the whole Congress (who are Republicans, at least), and two of them are named Paul (and Amash, Duncan, Flake, Bartlett, McClintock, Garrett, Jones, Kingston, Miller, Franks, Posey, (as much as I dislike it) Rehberg, & Fitzpatrick). Not enough to swing such a vote.

[WhyteRain]

I am supporting.  OBAMA 2012 

Does your all-caps declaration of your support of a failed Presidency have anything to do with enthusiam issues among the Republicans?

We have two visions on a failed presidency. I think this president came into office with a mess

Obama didn't "inherit" the mess.  As a well-bribed Fannie Mae senator in the ruling Congressional majority after 2006, he voted for every bit of it.

The crash was caused by the collapse of the housing bubble.  The housing bubble was caused by the government (yes, including some liberal Republicans like Bush) forcing lenders to make politically-correct loans to "eliminate the racial gap in housing".

[opebo]

The crash was caused by the collapse of the housing bubble.  The housing bubble was caused by the government (yes, including some liberal Republicans like Bush) forcing lenders to make politically-correct loans to "eliminate the racial gap in housing".

No, that isn't what caused the crash, White.

[© Tweed the Younger]

The crash was caused by the collapse of the housing bubble.  The housing bubble was caused by the government (yes, including some liberal Republicans like Bush) forcing lenders to make politically-correct loans to "eliminate the racial gap in housing".

No, that isn't what caused the crash, White.

he gets the talking point from right-wing radio.  not his fault.  this way they can blame Dems and blacks all at once.

[WhyteRain]

The crash was caused by the collapse of the housing bubble.  The housing bubble was caused by the government (yes, including some liberal Republicans like Bush) forcing lenders to make politically-correct loans to "eliminate the racial gap in housing".

No, that isn't what caused the crash, White.

Someone wants an intellectual spanking.

Ok, what caused the crash if not the collapse of the housing bubble?

[opebo]

Ok, what caused the crash if not the collapse of the housing bubble?

Capitalism, buddy - it always crashes.  That is simply what it does - its a failed system.  Time to move on.

[a Person]

We have two visions on a failed presidency. I think this president came into office with a mess and he tried to fix everything but your guys in congress kept saying no. How about you tell your friends in congress to pass the jobs bill.

He is a Libertarian, we have about 2 whole congressmen who qualify as "our guys" in Congress. You are new here it looks so I'll just assume you thought he was a Republican and explain the color for avatars, Blue = GOP,Red = Dem, Green = indy, Dark Green = Green, Orange = Other and Yellow = sane.

I'll note that, at this point in time, Jbrase also has a green avatar.

[WhyteRain]

Ok, what caused the crash if not the collapse of the housing bubble?

Capitalism, buddy - it always crashes.  That is simply what it does - its a failed system.  Time to move on.

The only time it is is time to admit your ignorance of the causes of the 2008 financial crisis.

But you're lucky:  I will have to defer your paddling 'til another time; Mrs. Rain just reminded me that I have to do some legal briefs for her.

[© Tweed the Younger]

Ok, what caused the crash if not the collapse of the housing bubble?

Capitalism, buddy - it always crashes.  That is simply what it does - its a failed system.  Time to move on.

The only time it is is time to admit your ignorance of the causes of the 2008 financial crisis.

But you're lucky:  I will have to defer your paddling 'til another time; Mrs. Rain just reminded me that I have to do some legal briefs for her.

[krazen1211]

There's no need to love Mitt Romney to vote for him.

This election is about the battle for the treasury, between hard working taxpaying Americans, and the public sector unions and other moochers. Choose wisely.

[True Federalist]

The crash was caused by the collapse of the housing bubble.  The housing bubble was caused by the government (yes, including some liberal Republicans like Bush) forcing lenders to make politically-correct loans to "eliminate the racial gap in housing".

No, that isn't what caused the crash, White.

Someone wants an intellectual spanking.

Ok, what caused the crash if not the collapse of the housing bubble?

The crash was caused by the housing bubble, but PC-loans were at most a marginal contribution to the bubble, WhyteRayne.

[oakvale]

The crash was caused by the collapse of the housing bubble.  The housing bubble was caused by the government (yes, including some liberal Republicans like Bush) forcing lenders to make politically-correct loans to "eliminate the racial gap in housing".

I know you don't actually believe what you just typed, so I won't dignify it with much of a response.

Suffice to say that the "Community Reinvestment Act caused the GFC!!!!!1111" 'theory' has been thoroughly debunked, to the extent it was taken seriously at all - not least because, as Ernest points out, the vast, vast majority of subprime lending was by banks that weren't even subject to the Act in the first place.

Here's the remarks of Randall Kroszner, who was one of the Governors on the Federal Reserve board. And, since you'll undoubtedly dismiss this, a member of the Bush administration and notable Chicago school economist - not exactly a bleeding-heart socialist.

Two key points emerge from all of our analysis of the available data. First, only a small portion of subprime mortgage originations are related to the CRA. Second, CRA- related loans appear to perform comparably to other types of subprime loans. Taken together, as I stated earlier, we believe that the available evidence runs counter to the contention that the CRA contributed in any substantive way to the current mortgage crisis.

But by all means continue peddling the kind of bulls--t that only persists in the racial fantasies of Free Republic posters. It's not like you're going to listen to me, or do any research at all.

[LINCOLN REPUBLICAN]

Americans may not fall in love in with Romney, but that doesn't matter.  What matters is that Americans know that Romney has the abilities to end the Obama recession and bring order out of chaos, that was caused by an incompetent, unprepared, and a completly out of depth President, by the name of Barack Obama, who promised renewal and who instead delivered recession.

[cope1989]

I am supporting.  OBAMA 2012 

Does your all-caps declaration of your support of a failed Presidency have anything to do with enthusiam issues among the Republicans?

We have two visions on a failed presidency. I think this president came into office with a mess

Obama didn't "inherit" the mess.  As a well-bribed Fannie Mae senator in the ruling Congressional majority after 2006, he voted for every bit of it.

The crash was caused by the collapse of the housing bubble.  The housing bubble was caused by the government (yes, including some liberal Republicans like Bush) forcing lenders to make politically-correct loans to "eliminate the racial gap in housing".

Come on, Whyte Rain. You know good and well that fannie and freddie are not to blame for the housing bust and financial crisis. That argument is a poorly developed red herring pitched by Republicans and Wall Street when the entire country, rightfully, was incredibly pissed at them.

Is your unbridled capitalism destroying the country?
NO PROBLEM!! Blame big government instead!

Study after study shows that while Fannie and Freddie did buy some risky mortgages, they didn't buy them at a high enough volume to cause the crisis. Big banks were leading the way the whole time, and you only need to look at the deregulation of the financial industry to see how they had free reign. When you look at the bare numbers- what institutions lent out TRULY risky loans to home buyers, fannie and freddie hold a miniscule portion compared to the big banks.

And this is exactly why most Americans still Blame Bush more than Obama for the economy, because they're not buying that argument.

[Keystone Phil]

Americans may not fall in love in with Romney

Who hacked Winfield's account?

[hawkeye59]

Americans may not fall in love in with Romney

Who hacked Winfield's account?

He and Romney have hit a rough patch in their relationship.

[pbrower2a]

I am supporting.  OBAMA 2012 

Does your all-caps declaration of your support of a failed Presidency have anything to do with enthusiam issues among the Republicans?

We have two visions on a failed presidency. I think this president came into office with a mess

Obama didn't "inherit" the mess.  As a well-bribed Fannie Mae senator in the ruling Congressional majority after 2006, he voted for every bit of it.

The crash was caused by the collapse of the housing bubble.  The housing bubble was caused by the government (yes, including some liberal Republicans like Bush) forcing lenders to make politically-correct loans to "eliminate the racial gap in housing".

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac got into trouble as the lending crooks outcompeted them in underwriting doomed loans. Predatory lenders could get away with lending to people sure to fail to meet payments within a few years. So long as housing prices were going up, foreclosures would be even more profitable than timely payments. Lenders encouraged those who had paper increases in equity to borrow even more and put their equity at risk. Such lending was especially profitable because almost all payments in the early years of a residential loan go to interest... and there are of course various fees, as for loan origination and points that can be quite lucrative. Lenders might also get kickbacks from pushing high-cost insurance policies upon borrowers who will do anything to increase their likelihood of getting a loan. The down payment of course has to be booked as much as a liability as revenue, but if the property is repossessed then a big chunk of the down payment suddenly becomes the borrower's loss and the lender's gain. 

The first year of a 30-year loan is very lucrative to a lender because most of the revenue is interest. The last years aren't so lucrative because almost all of the revenue pays for principal.

OK -- so why were people buying houses that they couldn't afford? Such was the idea behind Dubya's "Ownership Society" -- that anyone could achieve the American Dream  by buying into housing. Housing prices would only go up, as the Good Lord isn't making any more real estate these days, you know. People who used to fall short of qualifying for residential loans might be encouraged to buy in more quickly -- before they had amassed savings and gotten ahead on the job. Lenders and borrowers alike got away with liar loans to by housing priced far more than the old standard of three-and-a-half-times annual income.  If times were a bit hard they would get better.

Anything can be overpriced, and real estate is no exception. Bad investments almost invariably become ruin if they represent a high proportion of income to the investor. Housing became another bubble, with the last person in the one to get hurt most in the collapse.

The Republican Party had been making inroads into the Hispanic vote... and it is worth noting that Mexican-Americans are the swiftest of any group of people to buy housing, even buying bad housing. Mexican-Americans who bought into housing in California in the 1960s and 1970s did quite well.  Those who did so in the Double-Zero Decade for the hardest sting of the collapse of real estate prices. For that the Republican Party will pay a high price.   

[HagridOfTheDeep]

The crash was caused by the collapse of the housing bubble.  The housing bubble was caused by the government (yes, including some liberal Republicans like Bush) forcing lenders to make politically-correct loans to "eliminate the racial gap in housing".

Oh, come on. You can't honestly believe that the banks weren't happy to make those loans. Housing prices were always going up. It was win-win.

It's a complex issue and everyone deserves their fair share of the blame: The government, the banks, and the people buying homes they really shouldn't have been buying.