"That One's" letter to Bernanke and Paulson

During the second Presidential Debate, Senator McCain was answering a question from Oliver Clark (a young African-American) about the Bail Out and thefinancial crisis. First, Senator McCain seems to almost insult the young man with this remark, "really the match that lit this fire was Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. I'll bet you, you may never even have heard of them before this crisis." With this, as an African-American stated on a call-in show, Sen. McCain is implying that the common black man would be ignorant of financial organizations that manage mortgages. In the discussion portion to this question, addressing Mr. Clark, Sen. McCain goes on to say, "My friend, I'd like you to see the letter that a group of senators and I wrote warning exactly of this crisis. Sen. Obama's name was not on that letter." While Sen. Obama may not have signed onto McCain's letter, he sent his own letter to Chairman Bernanke and Secretary Paulson on March 22, 2007. Andrew Sullivan reports on it at the Daily Dish. In Sullivan's terms, here is the money quote:

As with Obama's warnings about the possible consequences of occupying Iraq, I think this letter is worth considering as we face the consequences of the financial mortgage-rooted meltdown in the credit markets and consider the two candidates. Money quote:

We cannot sit on the sidelines while increasing numbers of American families face the risk of losing their homes.

And while neither the government nor the private sector acting alone is capable of quickly balancing the important interests in widespread access to credit and responsible lending, both must act and act quickly...

[A] consortium of industry-related service providers and public interest advocates may be able to bring quick and efficient relief to millions of at-risk homeowners and neighborhoods, even before Congress has had an opportunity to act. There is an opportunity here to bring different interests together in the best interests of American homeowners and the American economy. Please don't let this opportunity pass us by.

Remember: from March 2007. Wouldn't it be great to have a president who actually anticipated problems rather than grappled with them after the fact?