Can we not agree that they did nothing...for a reason?
I'd contend that the plug could've been pulled on Fannie and Freddie at almost anytime during 2008. Instead, they timed the crisis for mid-September so as to achieve maximum electoral impact.
Chuckie Schumer even set the stage in August, when he went public with the impending failure of IndyMac -- a bank the FDIC was discretely trying to place in stronger hands.
One might say the Democrats intentionally destroyed the economy, so they could win an election and pick up the pieces.