Buddy – close to how I see it (I joke – amateur approving of professional) but the average person sees this smorgasbord of corruption, intent, mistakes, and misjudgments in an ever-shifting kaleidoscope of markets, politics, rhetoric, and reality. Turning into major league mess.

RE Freddie/Fannie. My take is that the GSE’s bought the bad (sub-prime) debt rather than directly generate it. Private mortgage entities used government to “socialize the losses.” The accounting mismanagement happened under bipartisan watch, coming to a head under Bush who initiated prosecution of Enron, WorldCom et al.