In the wake of Standard & Poor’s decision to downgrade the United States government’s credit rating from AAA to AA+, a number of commentators on the left are directing most of the blame not at high levels of government spending, and not even at tax rates they would like to increase, but at the ratings agency itself. Since S&P made enormous mistakes in rating securities backed by subprime mortgages prior to the economic meltdown, they argue, the ratings agency has no right to judge the U.S. government today.

“These are some of the people who have the worst records of incompetence and irresponsibility around,” top House Democrat Rep. Barney Frank told MSNBC.  S&P analysts, Frank continued, are “trying to justify their reputation” by being tough on the U.S.  An unnamed White House official, quoted by CNBC, called S&P’s performance “amateur hour” and cited a $2 trillion math mistake made in an earlier S&P assessment.  Another anonymous administration official added: “A judgment flawed by a $2 trillion error speaks for itself.”