As the Chairman of the House's Financial Services Committee, Frank is pursuing answers to the right questions and standing up to Bush's demands with intelligence and strength.
Normally by this time in the election cycle, it's time for the Republicans to pull out the "gay card" and victimize us for political gain. Isn't it ironic to see that Frank, who happens to be gay, is leading the charge to address the financial crisis on behalf of the Democrats. He is standing up to Bush and Paulson and their standard MO of "quick and clean" "my way or the highway". Some, like the Boston Herald and Boston Herald and O'Reilly are already trying to lay the blame at his feet, looking for a Democratic scapegoat.
As an example Frank's been trying to eliminate golden parachutes. Frank told CNN’s John Roberts:
The notion that while they are getting this help from the federal government we can’t tell them not to have golden parachutes, not to pay millions to some of the very people who made bad decisions as a retirement gift, is unacceptable to us.
Back in May the New York Times ran a feature praising his ability to build bridges with the conservatives. The Times said:
Within the administration, where some high-level officials privately refer to him as "scary smart," no one is underestimating him.... Mr. Frank, who holds degrees from Harvard and Harvard Law School, understands collateralized debt obligations.
I for one feel glad he's looking out for our interests in this mess. I'm not usually proud of congressional reps, but Frank deserves kudos. And with some actual agreement on this issue between the right wing and we liberals (e.g. need for oversight) I'll bet it kills them to see a smart gay man doing the right thing.