Zoom...the bill did pass the House, though not until late 05 with little Dem support. It got to the Senate in 06 were it died under Harry Reid.

localboy- I agree with your comments about personal responsibility, but the Rove-like "Democrats are not as patriotic as Republicans" is laughable.

RetiredAirForce -The story you linked to was written September 2003, during a Republican controlled Congress. Democrats didn't have a majority until January 2007. Maybe you should ask yourself what the Republican controlled Congress did for those three years.

shorty64 - your father was wrong. But, I would rather give it to the Republicans, who will give it to our military men and woman, then to the Democrats who will give it to able body men and women who don't want to work.

Deregulation of the financial markets, during President Clinton's term, has let the free market run wild. The chief architect of that deregulation was then Senator Gramm, who is now McCain's financial advisor.

My grandfather once said "save your money when the Dem. are in office, as we'll need it for when the Rep. take over". Truth be said!!!

There are two reasons the economy is in trouble; first, is greed. Greed is what drives people to buy things they can't afford. Homes, cars, boats, and any other unnecessary items. Greed is what drives brokers to sell people homes they can't afford. Second, is excessive living, which is tied to greed. People live in the 'now' and don't care about the 'later'. It used to be if you wanted an new couch, (just an example) you saved the money until you could afford it. Now, you put it on credit, our you buy the cheapest one availabe (made in Mexico) and throw it out when it doesn't last, and go buy another one. We buy bigger houses, and buy more stuff (made in China/Sri Lanka) to put in them. Then when the economy goes down (it always does), nobody has any money to weather the storm, because they spent it all on the house they can't afford, the junk they filled it with, and the two new cars in the driveway they leased, because they can't afford the payments of owning. Excessive living. That isn't President Bush's fault. It is personal responsibility to live cautiously.

Here is a little lite reading for all the "Bush-bashers" http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.ht...

Now please explain why the Dems (who control congress) kept this from becomming law and stopping the problems we have today?

Mymaro: I certainly hope you take a serious look at real issues before you cast your ballot. You've wasted a lot of time to put so much emphasis on one silly mistake by a candidate. If you truly believe that Obama does not know that there are 50 states, then I have a great "bridge to nowhere" to sell you" ... oh, wait, that was Palin's fib.

localboy: you're exactly right. Have you seen all the new legislation requiring lenders to fully disclose the terms of the mortgage. There are an awful lot of hoops to jump through before a mortgage contract is signed.The FTC.GOV website has qite a list. Yet people still think its the banks fault.

localboysince1968 Here is one reason we are in trouble. Have you ever heard the old saying about the fox guarding the hen house? Your Bush people are/were in power and thought deregulation was good, quick buck no rules who cares about people who can't afford their mortgage. The brokers made their millions and let someone else clean up the mess. If you don't believe me, just ask McCain, this is now what he says he is going to clean up when he comes to town. Yeah right!

You Bush bashers will have to explain to me how it is the Presidents fault that people financed 100%-125% of homes not worth the asking price? This was the start of the economic slow down - financial institutions going under due to property price adjustments. How is it that Bush was responsible that banks were giving people loans (adjustable and balloons of all things)that had bad credit, only to later default? How is it the Presidents fault that fuel demand soared due to all of the SUV and full size truck sales?

Some of you will have to give me an economic lesson and provide facts that this boat company is laying off people, and it is the Presidents (republican or demorcrat) fault?

Yes, the market is drying up, but Yamaha, Suzuki, and Honda are not helping. This is a very competitive market and, as the article says, is driven by discretionary spending.
You probably will not buy a new boat when you are having a tough time buying gas and groceries. Most people finance boats and loans are tight too.

truth1, where does the article say anything about foreign competition? The market is (in this case literally) drying up. If the recession is prolonged it will be difficult to sell many recreational products.

Clinton actually signed NAFTA.

Progressive6: I'm already hanging by a thin thread!

How much longer are we going to let the republican party steer us into disaster? Voting for McBush will give us the last bit of rope this country needs to hang itself.

mccain is a free trader maybe we can get a trade agreement with honda or suzuki to pick up the slack

welcome to the mccain oops bush economy.

Oh, man. More bad news.