The Gaffe That Wasn’t…

The Huffington Post is reporting that Sarah Palin has made her first gaffe:

Gov. Sarah Palin made her first potentially major gaffe during her time on the national scene while discussing the developments of the perilous housing market this past weekend.

Speaking before voters in Colorado Springs, the Republican vice presidential nominee claimed that lending giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had “gotten too big and too expensive to the taxpayers.” The companies, as McClatchy reported, “aren’t taxpayer funded but operate as private companies. The takeover may result in a taxpayer bailout during reorganization.”

Economists and analysts pounced on the misstatement, which came before the government had spent funds bailing the two entities out, saying it demonstrated a lack of understanding about one of the key economic issues likely to face the next administration.

“You would like to think that someone who is going to be vice president and conceivable president would know what Fannie and Freddie do,” said Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research. “These are huge institutions and they are absolutely central to our country’s mortgage debt. To not have a clue what they do doesn’t speak well for her, I’d say.”

Umm, nice try but that dog ain’t gonna hunt. Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac are Government Sponsored Enterprises. They operate with the the implicit, if not complicit, guarantee of the government.

Fannie and Freddie are quintessential examples of front side capitalism and backside socialism…. When things go well they keep the profits and when things go bad we (the tax payers) get the bill. To the tune of a $200 billion bailout.

Michelle Mailkin and Kim Priestap at Wizbang have more here and here.