St. Louis CofCC Blog

Fannie Mae is in the news, and it gave the MSM a chance to check up on Franklin Raines, to see what he’s up to these days.  Remember, Raines was the affirmative action CEO of Fannie Mae, whose illustrious leadership led to an accounting scandal more than six times that of Enron/Arthur Andersen.

Ken Lay would have got a prison cell if not for his “death.”  But Franklin Raines, according to the Seattle Times:

…has been quietly constructing a new life for himself.

He has shaved eight points off his golf handicap, taken a corner office in Steve Case’s D.C. conglomeration of finance, entertainment and health-care companies and more recently, taken calls from Barack Obama’s presidential campaign seeking his advice on mortgage and housing policy matters.

(snip)

He and his wife of more than 25 years, Wendy, are separated. Their house, a 1910 colonial in the northwest part of town, is for sale. An old friend, former Time Warner Chairman Richard Parsons, describes him as being “in strong recovery mode.”

(snip)

In October 2003, even as Raines was invited to the Bush White House to receive a leadership award on behalf of Fannie Mae, investigators were about to look into the company’s accounting books. A year later, Congress held a hearing on accounting irregularities at the company.

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He’s lunched with Lawrence Small, the Smithsonian head who resigned last year after questions were raised about his salary and spending habits. He’s engaging in charities and new projects like the Mall restoration and African-American history museum. He’s taken to repeating an old saw, “If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog.”

(snip)

Raines’s personal experience colors his perspective, but he has lived longer now in the world of power and privilege. He drives a sleek BMW sedan (”I buy one every 10 years, whether I need one or not,” he quipped) and has been trying to clear his name through the courts.

(snip)

“He’s very good at reminding people that whatever happened, you’re not dead,” Raines said. “Get up, go out and do stuff.”

Of course he’s not dead.  He’s black, and therefore has the media to cover up for him and to write glowing pieces like this about him.  They would have never done this for Ken Lay.