I'm really pleased that the President issued that forwarning, himslef as well as thru his cabinet. I wasn't aware that he had issued that warning and prediction.

But what about his prioritization of that issue? How much emphasis did he place on it? What about his leadership? What about the bully pulpit? What about proposing the necessary legislation to enable the "world class regulatory agency" proposed by John Snow? What about simply toughening up the regulatory activities already authorized by law?

At the time the forewarnings were issued, the President had his party in control of both houses of Congress. If he got such legislation to the floor of the Congress, surely it would have passed. Whether the current crisis could have been avoided is problematical. The heart of the problem was overspending and overborrowing by the public, and that pattern was already well down the road towards the cliff we eventually went over.

But I don't think this President--or any President--can escape responsibility with an "I told you so", particulalry one as quiet and weak as the one referred to in the Fox News report. The financial mess we find ourselves in happened on his watch and he cannot escape that responsibility. He is not totally responsible, for sure. The Congress is also culpable. The various agencies of the executitve branch also share the blame for a job badly done.

But as I have said here before, the ship of state turns slowly. Whether it was by election or criminal prosecution, we got rid of a number of the perpetrators in the Congress that were enablers of this mess. Maybe in the 2010 elections we can get rid of some more. Maybe even Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid!