Bush Clueless and Out of Touch

ACORN President Maude Hurd released the following statement tonight following the national prime-time address from President Bush on his Wall Street bailout proposal:

"President Bush said tonight that Americans have a right to ask how the economy ended up in the tank on his watch. He then presented his version of that history, in which of course his Administration bore no blame, and not once did he correctly identify the trigger of the crisis as the massive explosion in predatory lending that trapped homeowners in toxic mortgages that have fueled record numbers of foreclosures. This crisis was entirely predictable, and in fact ACORN has been sounding the alarm bell for years. That the crisis was predictable means it was preventable if not for the dominant deregulation mentality of Washington, which makes the economic hardship we all now face that much more tragic.

"Lawmakers are right to ask how an Administration that caused this crisis should be trusted to fix it with limited oversight and no strong actions to stanch the foreclosure crisis that will continue to roil the markets without a real plan. At the top of the list should be bankruptcy shelter for principal residences, without which any deal will prove toxic to Members of Congress hoping to be re-elected this fall. There is a palpable populist revolt rolling through towns and cities across the country, and if Main Street doesn't get any real help with the mortgage out of this deal, the American people only have to wait a few weeks for a constructive outlet for their anger."