Great article.
Congress can't be too hard on Wall Street. I'm not saying that they are reluctant to bite the hand that feeds them, but Congress has been responsible for removing regulations... and requiring new ones that helped put the economy into this mess. I'm sure nobody bribed, coerced, or did anything else remotely illegal to get laws changed. That would be illegal... wouldn't it?
And shouldn't Greenspan and Rubin be held responsible for some of this, since they po-po'd warnings regarding this melt-down, like... 10 years ago or something. And why do we have people like Paulson and Bernanke heading things... isn't that like the fox guarding the chicken coop? Aren't there any other intelligent, qualified individuals... untarnished individuals available?

Good job.

I agree, great article! Somehow we Americans that care, have to see that these THIEVES are held accountable. If we yell at our representatives and tell them how we feel, will this have an effect?? It's scary to think what can happen on down the road if these practices aren't changed. I had such high hopes for us when I heard Obama's promises , but now according to this article they have been watered down. How can a good man get things done in Washington that are for the benefit of "the people" he represents and NOT for these greedy guys that put us in this mess in the first place?? I wish I had the answer. I think we all need to PRAY a lot to change things from what they are to what they could and SHOULD be.
Thank youk Joan B

Can America rise above its "our turn" mentality?

The beauty of the Constitution with its balance of powers is that it uses the philosophy of opposing forces to prevent the wholesale loss that would otherwise accrue to dictators - on the courts, in the White House or in Congress.

But do we heed?

The Republican administration showed what would happen if all the stars lined up and Repubican barriers did not exist to offset their enthusiasm. Now that Democrats face the same blue sky, Washington political history suggests that Democrats cannot refrain from having the same attitude as "their turn."

That America always suffers from dictators - of either party - should be obvious, and the wisdom of using American democracy to balance both Congress and the White House as well as the Court should be a lesson all have learned by now. To the extent that we don't, we are our own worst enemy, and it always falls on the little guy, the individual citizen, trying to plug along in a manner befitting a lonely Patriot.