Another Loyal Bushie

An idiot wind. Blowing every time he moved his mouth. Washington Post (04.13.08), via Calculated Risk:

"In late 2006, as economists warned of an imminent housing market collapse, housing Secretary Alphonso Jackson repeatedly insisted that the mounting wave of mortgage failures was a short-term 'correction.'

He pushed for legislation that would make it easier for federally backed lenders to make mortgage loans to risky borrowers who put less money down. He issued a rule that was criticized by law enforcement authorities because it could increase the difficulty of detecting and proving mortgage fraud.

HUD Chief Inattentive To Crisis, Critics Say

"As Jackson leaves office this week, much of the attention on his tenure has been focused on investigations into whether his agency directed housing contracts to his friends and political allies."

Come now! Alphonso wasn't just an obsequiously venal ideologue. He was also a first-class moron. "(C)ritics say an equally significant legacy of his four years as the nation's top housing officer was gross inattention to the looming housing crisis."

During Alphonso's tenure, "foreclosures for loans insured by HUD's Federal Housing Administration (FHA) have risen and default rates have hit a record high."

"All the while, Jackson enjoyed a chef and a full-time security detail that trailed him to Washington social events. His office launched a new $7 million auditorium and cafeteria at HUD's headquarters, money that some within the agency believed should have been directed toward housing for the poor."

He also charged you taxpayers $100,000 "to obtain oil portraits of Jackson and four other HUD secretaries".