[SPF2245]

VRM, regarding the national debt...it's not the total number of dollars of the debt which is the issue, it's the % of the debt vs the GDP which is the true measure of comparision. And let's not forget the $5 trillion Bush had been blessed with when he took office. Either way, this was a long time in the making...and both parties are equally at fault.

As for the sub-prime lending mess that got us into this mess, I laughed working at a small bank in 1993 when this whole mess got started (I have to admit, I did profit well from it). This coupled with Clinton's re-write of the The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 with special low credit scores previsions for who would normally not be able to qualify for a loan opened a flood gate of idiots into the housing market with no means to pay for food...let alone a house. And it all spun out of control...both parties at fault (though some more then others), and the American public fueled it with hedge bets on future property values. Oh well, now let's throw more money at it and see what happens...