John McCain just started off by saying Fannie and Freddie caused the subprime mortgage crisis. Of course, neither institution makes loans, they bought mortgage loans from other institutions. In fact, during the biggest subprime boom between 2004 and 2006, Fannie and Freddie's share of the mortgage securities went down. The fact is that the institutions that made sub-prime loans were private and not subject to the strict federal regulation. --A. Serwer
