Derivatives weren’t the problem, the problem was bad loans to people who had no ability to pay the mortgage, which was forced by the Clinton administration.
Derivatives and securitization made it possible to spread risk around and thereby allowed the system to temporarily absorb more debts destined to fail than would have otherwise been the case. The driving force which supplied the bad debts was the push to expand homeownership by lowering debt standards.
So, in my view, Clinton and Frank and company pushed the debt standards down and drove supply, while Fannie, Freddie, and a host of Wall Street actors increased the amount that could be absorbed as well as the demand.
"The guy who first had the opportunity to make a lot of money doing this was Mark Rich." the clintoons pardoned this guy, remember?