The New York Times has published a series of articles under the heading “The Reckoning,” looking into the causes of the economic meltdown.

Sunday’s headline had the White House hopping mad.

“White House Philosophy Stoked Mortgage Bonfire.”

An excerpt:

There are plenty of culprits, like lenders who peddled easy credit, consumers who took on mortgages they could not afford and Wall Street chieftains who loaded up on mortgage-backed securities without regard to the risk.

But the story of how we got here is partly one of Mr. Bush’s own making, according to a review of his tenure that included interviews with dozens of current and former administration officials.

From his earliest days in office, Mr. Bush paired his belief that Americans do best when they own their own home with his conviction that markets do best when let alone.

…his housing policies and hands-off approach to regulation encouraged lax lending standards.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino issued a white hot statement in response – a rare move from an administration that doesn’t receive much positive press.

Most people can accept that a news story recounting recent events will be reliant on ‘20-20 hindsight’. Today’s front-page New York Times story relies on hindsight with blinders on and one eye closed.

The Times’ ‘reporting’ in this story amounted to finding selected quotes to support a story the reporters fully intended to write from the onset, while disregarding anything that didn’t fit their point of view.

She goes on,

The story also gives kid glove treatment to Congress. While the Administration was pushing for more transparent lending rules and strengthening oversight and supervision of Fannie and Freddie, Congress for years blocked attempts at stronger regulation and blocked reform of the Federal Housing Administration.

But the White House staff weren’t done there. They also published what they considered The New York Times article’s “three most egregious claims.” From what I can tell, the nation’s largest newspaper hasn’t publicly responded to the White House accusations.