September 29, 2008 8:23AM # Obama’s Free Ride on Fannie Mae By [David Boaz](https://www.cato.org/people/david-boaz) --- SHARE A page one *Washington Post* [headline](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/27/AR2008092702906.html) reports, “Credit Crisis Has Given Obama a Distinct Edge.” Which must be really frustrating for McCain, because McCain did [try to reform](http://www.govtrack.us/congress/record.xpd?id=109-s20060525-16&bill=s109-190#sMonofilemx003Ammx002Fmmx002Fmmx002Fmhomemx002Fmgovtrackmx002Fmdatamx002Fmusmx002Fm109mx002Fmcrmx002Fms20060525-16.xmlElementm0m0m0m) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac back in 2006. Obama, meanwhile, as I reported [at the *American Spectator*](http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=13946), received more donations from Fannie Mae in four years than any other senator (except Banking Committee chairman Chris Dodd) received *in twenty years.* That’s quite an accomplishment–more money from a primary creator of the financial meltdown in just four years than senior members of Congress like Nancy Pelosi, Barney Frank, Richard Shelby, Spencer, Bachus, John Kerry, and Roy Blunt got in entire 20 years that the [Center for Responsive Politics tallied](http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2008/09/update-fannie-mae-and-freddie.html). And of course, Obama chose former Fannie Mae CEO James Johnson, who was found to have jiggered the books, to head his search for a vice president. Shouldn’t somebody in the media ask Obama *why* he was Fannie Mae’s favorite senator? ##### Related Tags [General](https://www.cato.org/general), [Government and Politics](https://www.cato.org/government-politics) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).