The Obama Mortgage Mess

For all his presumed eloquence, Democrat Barack Hussein Obama displays a keen knack for stepping in his own, ahem, stuff.

Obama has frequently and loudly criticized the mortgage business. As seems to be his solution for everything, he demands more regulation.

And then a somewhat minor explosion happened in the Obama camp: It was revealed that Jim Johnson, one of Obama’s key advisors, had received special treatment in his mortgage loan from Countrywide Mortgage on the basis of a relationship with the CEO of Countrywide, Angelo Mozilo.

Personally, I don’t really have a problem with that type of thing. It’s the way business works: You give special benefits to people who represent special value to you. But Obama had backed himelf into a corner because of his loud criticism of the mortgage industry, and the result was the exit of Jim Johnson from Obama’s campaign.

That wasn’t the end of the story. Apparently, Chris Dodd (Democrat-Connecticut) and Kent Conrad (Democrat-North Dakota) also received highly favorable and below-market loans, possibly in connection with political favors. Interestingly, Chris Dodd is the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. Is this a conflict of interest? Either it is, or Chris Dodd is a fool. Methinks both.

Alas, there’s a new twist in the Obama Mortgage Mess. The Washington Post reports Obama purchased a $1.65 Million mansion in Chicago through a “super jumbo loan” program from Northern Trust Bank, and that this loan was written far below prevailing interest rates. (Obama received a 30-year flat-rate mortgage at 5.625%.)

So what we have here is Obama’s decision to release a key member of his campaign for the exact same transgression committed by Obama himself.