Joe LoBue's recent letter to the editor looks like Obama campaign talking points, which illustrate the desire of liberal Democrats to engage in intellectual dishonesty.

Regarding the financial crisis, accounting rules were grievously violated by Fannie Mae and Franklin Raines, its former CEO. Because of that fraud, Raines was dismissed, and Fannie Mae being fined $400 million.

Fraud, attempts to use Democratic legislators to cover the fraud, and the manipulation of accounting procedures are thoroughly documented. Raines manipulated the numbers to create bonuses that helped him make $90 million during his six years at Fannie Mae.

During these same years, Fannie Mae contributed several hundred thousand dollars to Sens. Christopher Dodd and Obama, who were the number one and two recipients of Fannie's largesse.

Deregulation had nothing to do with accounting violations, poor quality loans or derivatives.

The basic purpose for Fannie Mae and FreddieMac was redirected by the self-serving Democratic politicians to focus on providing low-cost loans to the poor. This trend, started in the Jimmy Carter administration and accelerated during Bill Clinton's presidency, penalized lending institutions if an "appropriate" level of diversity was not evident in their lending practices.

The result was the accumulation of the huge number of subprime mortgages. It is the same mortgages and their derivatives that are now destroying our nation's banks.

It also is these same mortgages that constitute much of the foreclosure problems, which are concentrated in large metro areas with huge populations of poor Americans.

Democratic voters need to know that Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., introduced legislation three times to address the lack of control and oversight at FreddieMac and Fannie Mae. These efforts were blocked by the Democrats.

Sen. John McCain and three other Republicans introduced a comprehensive bill to reform Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae in 2005, which was killed by the Democrats — while Obama was mute.

Iam bothered by Obama and Democrats playing politics with the worst financial crisis of our lifetimes.