......"With the help of some of the Democrats ...And Most of the Republicans ... and the hoards of speculators and home buyers who put no money down on their McMansions with balloon mortgage payments and now expect the government to bail them out!"

When you buy a new car and drive it out of the showroom, the value of the car deplets rapidly to the extent that the car is no longer worth what your loan was. Same difference on these no-money-down home loans. The house is now worth less than the mortgage so people are walking away from their obligations they couldn't afford in the first place and the banks are left holding the paper.