Democrats criticize Bush response

Rep. Frank J. Pallone Jr., D-N.J., said President Bush's visit Friday to a debt-counseling agency - where he encouraged those having problems paying their mortgages to seek help from a free program aiding troubled homeowners - is part of a weak overall response to the mortgage squeeze that is "too little, too late."

"It upsets me that he's visiting here talking about a need for credit counseling for those facing the possibility of losing their homes. Mr. President, credit counseling is very nice, but it's not enough," Pallone said.

Pallone and Josh Zeitz, a Democrat running for Congress in the Fourth District, blamed Bush's policies and the war in Iraq for the economic downturn.

Pallone and Zeitz spoke at a press conference and anti-war rally at the corner of Willowbrook and Halls Mill roads, about a quarter-mile from where Bush visited the offices of Novadebt, the credit-counseling firm.

Pallone said Bush began his presidency seven years ago after the nation enjoyed "better economic conditions" under the Clinton administration. Bush has given "corporate people and wealthy people" tax breaks that should be eliminated, Pallone said.

Citing an economist's report that the five-year-old war in Iraq will cost the U.S. more than $3 trillion - a figure disputed by the Pentagon - Pallone said the financial toll and loss of lives is why "it's necessary to get out of Iraq."

"There's (nine) more months in his presidency. We want to see some changes and see them now," Pallone said.

Zeitz said Bush has "mortgaged our children's future on a costly war in Iraq that has taken the lives of 4,000 brave servicemen and servicewomen, many of them from New Jersey."

It's time to hold him "responsible for seven years of failed and misguided policies," Zeitz said.

Other leading New Jersey Democrats also weighed in with prepared statements. U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez said Bush's visit "was a nice photo op for the president but touting the baby steps the administration has taken in the face of this tsunami of foreclosures cannot be mistaken for the type of bold action American homeowners need."

Rep. Rush Holt, D-N.J., said highlighting "the good work of Novadebt is not a complete response to the housing crisis. We are not in this crisis by accident. In fact, the current economic policy (of) government deregulation and a lack of oversight of the speculation and trading by the mortgage and housing industries has had a devastating impact on our families."

Freehold Township is split between the Fourth and 12th congressional districts. Holt represents the 12th District. Novadebt's office is in the Fourth District, whose congressman, Rep. Christopher H. Smith, R-N.J., greeted Bush there on Friday.

In the hotly contested Third Congressional District, which includes much of Ocean County, Bush's New Jersey visit stirred economic and political commentary from state Sen. John Adler, D-Camden, and Republicans John P. Kelly, an Ocean County freeholder, and Medford Mayor Chris Myers. Adler, Kelly and Myers are vying to replace Rep. Jim Saxton, R-N.J., who is not seeking re-election.

"I find that people in New Jersey are struggling to get by. As a first step, we need the president to acknowledge the middle class has problems," said Adler, who has criticized the war in Iraq as a strategic blunder and a drag on the economy. "I see a president who's out of touch, almost riding out his last few months in office. We need a president and a Congress to focus on American problems, not Iraqi problems."

Myers took a shot at Adler's record in the state Senate, criticizing him for accepting $2,500 in campaign donations during 2003-2004 from an industry group that counted subprime lender Ameriquest Inc. among its members.

"Adler's partisan rants today are nothing more than the hollow words of a career politician who has long been part of the problem in Trenton," Myers said.

"Rather than telling New Jersey families what his ideas are to fix the housing crisis, Chris Myers takes a cheap shot at John Adler for voting for a bill that passed unanimously," said Carrie James, the Democratic congressional campaign committee's Northeast press secretary.

The Myers campaign based its attack on a Dec. 31 Wall Street Journal story that linked Ameriquest to efforts to amend New Jersey lending restrictions, an effort that ultimately succeeded and allowed homeowners to refinance.

Those amendments, sponsored by Adler and Sen. Gerald Cardinale, R-Bergen, changed the New Jersey Homeowner Security Act, an anti-predatory lending law passed in 2002 that had prompted some lenders to quit the state. The amendments were offered as a compromise that broadened consumer protections, while acceeding to industry requests for relief from certain "high
costs'' load burdens, and it was also supported by a coalition of consumer groups including Citizen Action and the American Association of Retired Persons who had backed the original legislation.

Kelly said the Bush administration's response to the financial crisis has been justified.

"I don't think it's a good idea for the government to over-regulate and make buyouts," Kelly said. But with home values and household financial security diminishing, "the government can't sit back and not do anything," he said.

"We have to build a stronger economy," Kelly said. "That's the philosophy I would bring to Washington, to reduce the dependence on government."