The Fannie Mae's Franklin Raines - Obama Connection

Franklin Raines








Fannie Mae CEO Franklin Raines Franklin Delano Raines (born January 14, 1949 in Seattle, Washington) is the former chairman and chief executive officer of the Federal National Mortgage Association, commonly known as Fannie Mae, who served as White House budget director under President Bill Clinton.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_Raines

. . . there is the question of being against the "greed" of CEOs and for "the people." Franklin Raines made $90 million while he was head of Fannie Mae and mismanaging that institution into crisis.

Who in Congress defended Franklin Raines? Liberal Democrats, including Maxine Waters and the Congressional Black Caucus, at least one of whom referred to the "lynching" of Raines, as if it was racist to hold him to the same standard as white CEOs.



Even after he was deposed as head of Fannie Mae, Franklin Raines was consulted this year by the Obama campaign for his advice on housing!

The Washington Post criticized the McCain campaign for calling Raines an adviser to Obama, even though that fact was reported in the Washington Post itself on July 16th. The technicality and the spin here is that Raines is not officially listed as an adviser. But someone who advises is an adviser, whether or not his name appears on a letterhead.
The tie between Barack Obama and Franklin Raines is not all one-way. Obama has been the second-largest recipient of Fannie Mae's financial contributions, right after Senator Christopher Dodd.
But ties between Obama and Raines? Not if you read the mainstream media.
***
But the country does not deserve to be put in the hands of a glib and cocky know-it-all, who has accomplished absolutely nothing beyond the advancement of his own career with rhetoric, and who has for years allied himself with a succession of people who have openly expressed their hatred of America.
Copyright 2008, Creators Syndicate Inc

[color and bold emphases mine. lw]

from Do Facts Matter? By Thomas Sowell
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/10/do_facts_matter.html

Racist? This evaluation (in red) of the fast-wriggling Barack Hussein Obama? The words of a man who is anti-black?

Here's Thomas Sowell's (the author of the above words) photo:

And here's more from wikipedia about Franklin Raines and the Raines-Obama connection:

Franklin Delano Raines (born January 14, 1949 in Seattle, Washington) is the former chairman and chief executive officer of the Federal National Mortgage Association, commonly known as Fannie Mae, who served as White House budget director under President Bill Clinton.
***
On July 16, 2008, The Washington Post reported that Franklin Raines had "taken calls from Barack Obama's presidential campaign seeking his advice on mortgage and housing policy matters." [19]. Also, in an editorial in August 27, 2008 titled "Tough Decision Coming", the Washington Post editorial staff wrote that "Two members of Mr. Obama's political circle, James A. Johnson and Franklin D. Raines, are former chief executives of Fannie Mae."[20]

On September 18, 2008, John McCain's campaign published a campaign ad that quoted the Washington Post's claim that Franklin Raines advises Barack Obama on economic matters. The ad also notes that "Raines made millions and then left Fannie Mae while it was under investigation for accounting irregularities".[21] Both Raines and the Obama campaign claim that Raines is not an Obama advisor and has never advised Senator Obama. [22]

In the New York Times John Steele Gordon wrote an opinion criticizing Raines' contribution to the 2008 financial crisis caused by the failure of Fannie Mae, "...Fannie C.E.O. from 1999 to 2004, had been budget director in the Clinton White House. He cooked the books at Fannie to increase his compensation (more than $50 million)." [
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_Raines

Obama wriggling out of that accusation as he does whenever he is confronted.

The McCain campaign also released this supporting information:

The Obama Campaign Has Solicited Franklin Raines, Who "Stepped Down As Fannie Mae's Chief Executive Under The Shadow Of A $6.3 Billion Accounting Scandal," For "Advice On Mortgage And Housing Policy." "In the four years since he stepped down as Fannie Mae's chief executive under the shadow of a $6.3 billion accounting scandal, Franklin D. Raines has been quietly constructing a new life for himself. He has shaved eight points off his golf handicap, taken a corner office in Steve Case's D.C. conglomeration of finance, entertainment and health-care companies and more recently, taken calls from Barack Obama's presidential campaign seeking his advice on mortgage and housing policy matters." (Anita Huslin, "On The Outside Now, Watching Fannie Falter," The Washington Post, 7/16/08)

The Washington Post: "Two Members Of Mr. Obama's Political Circle, James A. Johnson And Franklin D. Raines, Are Former Chief Executives Of Fannie Mae." (Editorial, "Tough Decision Coming," The Washington Post, 8/28/08)


Anita Huslin, who wrote a profile of the discredited Fannie Mae boss that appeared on July 16. The profile reported that Raines, who retired from Fannie Mae four years ago, had "taken calls from Barack Obama's presidential campaign seeking his advice on mortgage and housing policy matters."

Since this has now become a campaign issue, I asked Huslin to provide the exact circumstances of the quote. She explained that she was chatting with Raines during the photo shoot, and asked "if he was engaged at all with the Democrats' quest for the White House. He said that he had gotten a couple of calls from the Obama campaign. I asked him about what, and he said 'oh, general housing, economy issues.' ('Not mortgage/foreclosure meltdown or Fannie-specific,' I asked, and he said 'no.')"

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/2008/09/obamas_fannie_mae_connection.html

New Home for a Fallen Housing Giant

Don't shed any tears for Franklin Raines, former chief executive of Fannie Mae and villain of the moment for Republicans.

While Raines was being demonized by the McCain campaign for his stewardship of the mortgage finance giant, he was buying a $4.9 million bachelor pad in Washington, according to Washingtonian magazine.

His new digs are a three-bedroom, seven-bath penthouse condominium in the city's West End Ritz-Carlton Residences. He and his wife - who have split - recently sold a seven-bedroom, eight-bath colonial, complete with library, movie theater, and pool, in a tony Washington neighborhood. The reported selling price was $7.6 million.

Republicans, trying to pin the financial crisis on Democrats, have repeatedly blamed Raines for allowing mortgage lending to go wild during his tenure. Republican lawmakers have repeatedly called for him to be hauled before a congressional hearing to testify about his role.

Raines, who was White House budget director in the Clinton administration, was paid some $91 million while at Fannie Mae. And about $52 million of that was linked to bonus targets reached by accounting manipulations, according to a report by federal regulators, which said quarterly earnings targets were adjusted so senior executives got hundreds of millions in bonuses.
After he was ousted in 2004, Raines was sued by regulators who sought to get Raines and two other top Fannie Mae executives to return $115 million in bonuses. Raines's share was some $85 million -- a sum that is likely to be mentioned more than once if he gets called on the congressional carpet.

Elizabeth Olson
http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/daily-brief/2008/10/09/new-home-for-a-fallen-housing-giant


Who is obfuscating? Obama and Raines or the McCain campaign? Judging by the record of hiding all happenings in his past that are unfavorable to him, who do you think?

Also see http://islamicdanger4u.blogspot.com/2008/10/fannie-mae-and-freddie-mac-horror-story.html