I usually like Politico but this Lisa Lerer article is one of the worst I have read on the issue. It is badly sourced, lacking in nuance and makes completely unsubstantiated claims. Lerer claims that TARP Oversight Chair Elizabeth Warren is "drawing fire from the right" but does not even attempt to define "the right."

She goes on only to cite the opposition of financial services lobbyists who are frustrated that someone is finally calling them on their greedy and nonsensical tactics. Lerer does point to two members of the oversight panel, former Republican Sen. John Sununu and Republican Rep. Jeb Hensarling - not signing onto a commission report. But it takes quite a leap to transform that quiet refusal into "fire from the right."

More importantly, the piece doesn't quote any leading Republican who actually disagrees with Warren, her leadership of the oversight panels or calls for increased regulation. If Republicans (who I assume basically constitute "the right" if Lerer lives in the same country as me) feel as Lerer claims they do but are not on the record as such, their refusal to state their disagreement with Warren on the record demonstrates that they fear either the persuasive reasoning behind her prescriptions or the popularity of her arguments.

The truth is that the crisis brings into question what policies belong to the "right" and which belong to the "left"; perhaps what Warren is advocating now is the "center." The SEC is just as statist and interventionist as the potential consumer financial safety commission, but how many people go around calling the SEC "left-wing?"

Finally, Warren's biggest asset to "left" and "right" alike is to demand transparency and accountability from Treasury, and I think the "right" recognizes the valuable contribution she is making on that front. Lerer may disagree but she didn't persuade me with evidence. A high school journalism student would have been more thorough.