Written by: Beck

[David] Gregory [of NBC Nightly News] detailed several contacts between the Treasury and Commerce departments and Enron. While he conceded that "No action resulted from those calls," he theorized that the White House didn’t have the time to hold up their end of the quid pro quo, "because the company fell too far, too fast for the government to have bailed them out."

In contrast, neither NBC nor any other broadcast outlet would have needed to search hard for political ties in the Fannie Mae debacle. Former Chief Executive Officer Franklin Raines and former Vice Chairman Jamie Gorelick were both instrumental figures in the Clinton administration. The print media were candid about Fannie’s political connections. In a Dec. 23, 2004, article, Albert Crenshaw of The Washington Post revealed that Franklin Raines “was a director of the Office of Management and Budget in the Clinton administration, and his name was mentioned as a possible Treasury Secretary had Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) been elected president.”

[...]

On a Dec. 28, 2004, edition of CNN’s “Newsnight With Aaron Brown,” Tucker Carlson interviewed [Newsweek's Charles] Gasparino about the media’s bypassing the Fannie Mae story. Carlson asked, “Why has it not been reported like Enron?”

Gasparino replied: “Well, Fannie Mae is a very politically corrupt – it may be politically corrupt, but it’s a politically correct company. I mean, they do all the things that, let’s face it, liberal journalists like, like put home mortgages out there for poor people. And so right now, beating up on Fannie Mae is kind of politically incorrect.”

The next exchange was telling. Carlson deduced: “So, because it’s not part of the tobacco industry or an energy company, it gets a pass from the press?”

Gasparino agreed: “Right. It’s not related to George Bush. Franklin Raines, I believe, is a Democrat. So there is a degree here – because I’ve heard journalists talk about this – that hey, this is – there’s politics on the part of the Republicans. That’s why they’re beating up on Fannie Mae, which may be true. But, at the same time, this is a huge story, and it’s going overlooked.”