In hindsight, most of the political and economic crises in United States history have had a fairly long run up. It has mostly been the actions, or lack of actions, of the national leadership that has allowed the crisis to unfold. One of the most notable is Osama bin Laden. Tracking back comments that Oliver North made about the man before congress during the Reagan administration.
Today we have further indications that the current global economic crisis was foreseen early enough that something could have been done to prevent, or at least minimize the impact of what we are now experiencing.