Congressional quotes on the goodness of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

rounded up by the WSJ.

Folks who assured us that everything was hunky dory and no changes were needed:

Barney Frank, Rep. MA, 2003, 2003
Maxine Waters, Rep. CA, 2003, 2003
Gregory Meeks, Rep. NY, 2003

Chuck Schumer, Sen. NY, 2003, 2005
Christopher Dodd, Sen. CT, 2004
Jack Reed, Sen. RI, 2006

Folks who were leaders in addressing the GSE risks:

Richard Shelby, Sen. AL, 2004
Chuck Hagel, Sen. NE, 2006

Notice which ones represented the coastal elites, and which ones represented Mid-America. Robert Bennett (Sen. UT, 2006) was also quoted, but he hedged.

I had to leave university to learn about the world--I was brainwashed in college, especially in the 3 economics courses I took in Cornell's School of Arts & Sciences. I guess I should have aspired to join the Cornhuskers or Crimson Tide.

UPDATE: I've found some agreement today:

The real heroes of the House are the Members who tried to reform Fannie when that was unpopular and are now trying to defend the financial system while that too is difficult. We have in mind Paul Ryan, the Wisconsin Republican, who has had the guts to support the Paulson plan while his GOP colleagues in safe seats, like Jim Sensenbrenner, run for cover.

Mr. Ryan and some other stalwarts are proof that political leadership does exist in Washington, albeit not always at the highest ranks. In this sense, too, the votes this week in Congress are about bailing out our political class from its own embarrassing performance. Americans are anxious, even frightened, about the financial system. They are looking for leaders who will act to defend it.

What's more scarce than credit these days? How about guts and heroes?