In a NPR story this morning on Rep. Barney Frank's (D-MA) retirement announcement, there was a brief retrospective of Rep. Frank's congressional career -- but remarkably, there was no mention made of Frank's involvement in the recent housing-sector meltdown.

None, other than to say he was 'an advocate for affordable housing.' What, one wonders, was the result of such advocacy on the part of Rep. Frank?

It's as if NPR thinks recent history can simply be airbrushed away. But it can't; it's right there for all to see.

From a September 2003 report by the New York Times' Stephen Labaton, on a Bush Administration proposal for a new agency charged with the financial oversight of both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac:

''These two entities -- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- are not facing any kind of financial crisis,'' said Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts, the ranking Democrat on the Financial Services Committee. ''The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing.''

All hail the 'great' Barney Frank!