The way to think of the current Fannie Mae scandal is as one of those action movie scenes where the bomb is being disabled by the hero. Wires go every which way, a timer ticks relentlessly to zero, sweat beads and lips purse. Finally, the jaws of a wirecutter begin to close on one set of wires. Is it the right one?

The only difference is that, in the film, we pretty much know that the hero is not going to meet his maker prematurely. However, for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored housing finance entities, it appears as though the inevitable crisis they faced is coming at a fairly well-chosen moment.