On CNBC this morning, Congressman Barney Frank was shown making his opening statement in the hearings on the bailout of GM, Ford, and Chrysler. He actually admitted that Congress had made mistakes and mentioned one such mistake. Perhaps, you might think, it was that Congress passed the Corporate Average Fuel Economy laws under President Ford or that Congress, at the behest of the United Auto Workers union, tightened these laws under President Carter.

Well, no. Congressman did make a mistake on CAFE, Mr. Frank admitted, but Congress’s mistake was that it “failed to increase CAFE.” In other words, Congress erred by failing to tighten the restrictions on the auto companies further.