Wanna Lose? Don't then. I just saw the clip of David Axelrod on Face the Nation discussing whether or not the administration would support a foreclosure moratorium. The take-home, in my opinion, is not pretty.
Axelrod:
It is a serious problem that has thrown a lot of uncertainty into the housing market....we are working closely with these institutions to make sure they expedite the process of going back and reconstructing these (i.e. documents supporting foreclosure procedures)
As I parse this, there is no acknowledgement of the shoddy, often fraudulent, paperwork leading up to the loans and their securitization; there is no concern likewise for the fraudulent and lawless conduct of banks processing foreclosures on properties for which they cannot show clear title; and there is no concern for the fact that something 1.5 million homes have been foreclosed, putting millions of people essentially on the street.
Furthermore, how do you work closely with 'these institutions?' Send a strongly worded letter? And how are they going to reconstruct paperwork that was not constructed in the first place?
The banks don't need any love here. They are the ones who created this mess, with the automatic shuttling through of loans which they knew they were going to sell off, and for whose quality they had therefore no concern. Let 'em eat it.
The opportunity I see is for the administration to change its tune, smack down Axelrod, and regain the progressive populist high ground by taking a dramatic stand for the common folks in this country.
A public announcement of a foreclosure moratorium would give a rallying cry for the historical constituencies of the Democratic Party. Hell, it might even peel off a few tea partiers, assuming they are not entirely blinded by hatred and racism (OK so I'm a bit overly optimistic here.)
But the callousness evinced by Axelrod's performance is in fact frightening. Let us hope it reflects his Evil Twin, as opposed to his Better Angels. Likewise let us hope that it does not reflect the thinking of his superiors in the White House.