From The Seattle PI
By Rich Miller

The U.S. is facing the worst financial crisis since the Depression. You would never know that from the Democrats’ platform or its Republican counterpart, or from listening to Barack Obama or John McCain.

While both candidates have bemoaned the ravages of the subprime crisis, they have yet to spell out steps for tackling it, such as using taxpayer money to shore up banks and housing.

“They fail to come to grips with the biggest danger that is going to hit the next president in his first few months in office: the crisis in the capital markets,” said David Smick, a Washington-based consultant to hedge funds and author of “The World is Curved: Hidden Dangers to the Global Economy.”

The Democrats’ platform labels the crisis a “debacle” and promises to jump-start the economy with a $50 billion stimulus package. It says nothing about helping banks or bailing out the mortgage-finance firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The draft of the Republicans’ plank supports “timely and carefully targeted aid to those hurt by the housing crisis” and opposes bailouts of private financial institutions. It doesn’t mention Fannie and Freddie.

Many Democrats shy away from tackling the credit crisis because of the party’s historical support for Fannie and Freddie. The Republicans, for their part, are reluctant to draw attention to a crisis that occurred on their watch.

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