Money / financial crisis Dumbest Gaffes on the Economy Instead of predicting financial crisis, they hid it By Ambreen Ali, Newser Staff Posted Dec 31, 2008 6:12 PM CST Copied Dumbest Gaffes on the Economy McCain repeats his line about the fundamentally strong economy on national TV. (YouTube) The gaffes provided fodder for "Saturday Night Live" skits. (hulu.com) 1 of 2 The men who should have been warning us about the impending financial crisis were a wee bit off the mark at times. MSNBC rounds up some of the dumbest things said: "Subprime market problems seem likely to be contained."—Ben Bernanke, March 28, 2007 "The fundamentals of our economy are strong."—John McCain, Sept. 15 "We don't see any pressure on our liquidity, let alone a liquidity crisis."—Former Bear Stearns CEO Alan Schwartz, March 12 "We have more capital than we need. We can confirm that we have tackled the problem."—Former Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain, March 16 "I don't think the government ought to be involved in bailing out companies."—George W. Bush, July 15 (Read more financial crisis stories.) View 1 image