REUTERS/Larry Downing
–The Obama administration is hosting a conference today on “the future of housing finance” The main issue: Figuring out what on earth to do with budget-busting mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Republicans want to shut them down, Democrats point out that for now, there is basically no mortgage market without them. From Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner’s opening remarks:
As I have said in the past, I believe there is a strong case to be made for a carefully designed guarantee in a reformed system, with the objective of providing a measure of stability in access to mortgages, even in future economic downturns.
–Floyd Norris of the New York Times sees more fear of deflation and stagnant recovery in the markets than deficit angst.
–I think Joe and Drudge might be misreading Roger Simon (Amend that: Joe caught on). He’s skewering Republicans and the chattering class for making the Cordoba House debate about electoral politics:
You could not put the conventional wisdom more clearly: It is far better for a president to do nothing than to choose a side. Even if the side he chooses is the right one from an ethical or moral perspective, it is a “blunder” politically because inevitably it will upset some people.
[snip]
Maybe Obama is disconnected. After all, as a former professor of constitutional law, he actually knows what the Constitution says.
His opponents have no such fetters.
That whole “one-term president” thing sounds a lot like snark.
–Republican Governor Chris Christie sticks up for Islam, declines comment on the mosque itself, and tries to have his cake and eat it too on the politics.
–Hollywood drops $1 million on Obama and Company.
–Karl Rove’s American Crossroads drops $1 million on Colorado and Ohio.
–News Corp. drops $1 million on the RGA.
–The National Republican Congressional Committee goes on the offensive.
–Todd Purdum shadows Obama in his daily grind.
–Hamid Karzai wants all private military contractors out of Afghanistan in four months. That’s a lot of personnel.
–And China solves its park bench problem.
What did I miss?