Considering the takeover ... the taxpayers on now on the hook for Fannie & Freddie.
Taxpayers have always been on the hook for them, this just makes it temporarily explicit until it's cleaned up. The "independent" management was fooling around with sub-prime paper outside their purview to pad their paychecks.
Sarah is correct to say that they had got too big for their britches and were putting the taxpayer at risk. I agree she could have said it more artfully. I expect she'll get a chance to illuminate her thinking on this at the debates.
-ccm