The White House accused the New York Times of “gross negligence” today in response to a page one story that largely places the housing and financial messes at the feet of Bush policies, Politico reports. “The Times’ ‘reporting’ in this story amounted to finding selected quotes to support a story the reporters fully intended to write from the onset, while disregarding anything that didn't fit their point of view,” White House press secretary Dana Perino said.
Perino said the 5,000-word story disregards the complex causes of the housing and financial crises and “gives kid glove treatment to Congress” for its role in the meltdown. She also bashed the reporters for disregarding a Bush speech that outlined factors leading to the economic crisis, including the unprecedented flow of cash into the US and the failure of financial institutions to perform due diligence.
(More housing crisis stories.)