Catie Couric interviewed Palin recently, and I've been watching clips. She said something that struck me as odd, and I couldn't quite put my finger on it, so I went looking for transcripts. I found one on the CBS site, but it didn't jive with the video....

Palin: Oh, well, some decisions that have been made poorly should not be rewarded, of course.

Couric: By consumers, you're saying?

Palin: Consumers - and those who were predator lenders also. That's, you know, that has to be considered also. But again, it's got to be a comprehensive, long-term solution found ... for this problem that America is facing today. As I say, we are getting into crisis mode here.

Couric: You've said, quote, "John McCain will reform the way Wall Street does business." Other than supporting stricter regulations of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac two years ago, can you give us any more example of his leading the charge for more oversight?

Well, there is a bunch missing, and I have to get it in text format, but it seems everyone that has the transcript is just pasting what CBS has on the website. So, I'll have to do it myself...

She is responding to a follow-up question about the bailout...

As I say, we are getting into crisis mode here, and if we don't shore up the economy, much of that does have to do with homeowners, homebuyers who had been giving misinformation, or made decisions based on, um, not only poor, poor information that they were given, but um just not lookin down the road as they should have been.

Couric: Do you blame them to an extent?

Palin: Not so much the homeowners who are now finding themselves in the position they are in, but those predator lenders who have taken advantage of people who put their trust in government, for one, overseen agencies that have that obligation to protect American consumers and American dollars, and they have let us down.

She is leaving the hard-nosed aspect of conservatism behind with this statement. There is no choice however, because it is disingenuous to blame the homeowners that took out bad loans, and leave it to them to make of their situation what they will, and support legislation that would take those same taxpayers' money and hand it over to the companies that have been irresponsibly overstating the value of those loans in an effort to bolster their own bottom line. It is reasonable to hold those that took out these loans responsible for their trouble. It is also reasonable to hold investment firms accountable for their troubles. Theirs is twofold though, they irresponsibly overstated values, which encouraged loans regardless of the risk. But, we can't hold homeowners accountable and not those that serviced obviously risky loans.

But that is exactly what we are doing. They are going to legislate money to investment firms, but there is no way to enforce any legislation that would offer some relief to homeowners on the brink of foreclosure. So, we can say we won't hold those responsible for succumbing to devious loan practices, but it won't hold much water in reality, because it will be impossible to provide oversight for such a widespread problem.

The only thing a responsible government can do is recognize this, and leave the investment companies to their demise.