Hillary: Banks are not primarily to blame. Not by a long shot.
The latest Democratic debate found Hillary Clinton in a defensive crouch about her Wall Street ties and making iffy claims about that longtime relationship. Rival Bernie Sanders offered a fumbling account of a campaign ad that boasted of endorsements that were bogus.
A look at some of their assertions, and how they compare with the facts:
CLINTON: "I went to Wall Street before the crash. I was the one saying you're going to wreck the economy because of these shenanigans with mortgages. I called to end the carried-interest loophole that hedge fund managers enjoy."
THE FACTS: Clinton was not nearly as tough-talking with Wall Street as she suggested in that remark and in her previous characterizations of her December 2007 speech. In a video of the speech obtained by ProPublica, she thanked her "wonderful donors" in the audience, said banks were not the actors primarily to blame for the emerging crisis, "not by a long shot," and praised Wall Street for its contribution to the economy.
At the same time, she said Wall Street had a hand in worsening the crisis and called for voluntary steps on foreclosures and subprime mortgages.
Altogether, she delivered a mixed message, not the unalloyed lecture that she portrayed Thursday night or in an earlier debate, when she claimed the speech's basic message to Wall Street was: "Cut it out."
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http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/ap-fact-check-dems-hampshire-36730378
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