By Henry Oliner
9/17/2008 4:16 AM

We are midway into a week of financial crisis, and the blogosphere writers seek the insights to explain it all. While this debacle has a long complicated history, the basics are really pretty simple.

The placement of these events 7 weeks before the most contentious presidential election in memory inevitably will have the candidates and their parties politicizing the bailouts. But campaign sound bites are not conducive to understanding such events.

But any attempts to blame the “other” party will backfire. There are plenty of Democratic fingerprints on this smoking gun. Why was Fannie Mae exempt from SEC oversight and subject only to Congressional oversight…. and who has controlled Congress for the last 2 years?

Republicans are not free from fault. Even the most ardent supporter of free markets has to wince and admit it does need adult supervision.

The independents who will decide this election disapprove of Bush’s performance, but they harbor even greater disapproval of Congress and the Media.

It does appear that the public is not a pawn of any media, and that they are not swayed by images. They seek clarity and understanding that is poorly served by campaign ads.

Obama’s staged event in Berlin and his extravagant stage props at Investco Field (maybe a bad time to use a facility named for an investment company) have not helped him in the polls; or if it did it was quickly undone by the Alaskan redneck lady with the lip gloss from a very, very plain stage.

The voters may be capable of understanding more than they are given credit for.

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