A Congressional bete noire of the Right is retiring because of redistricting. The bad news: who’s next in line to take his place as ranking Democratic member of the Financial Services Committee. Megan McArdle brings the bad news. She’s right: for all his faults – and they are legendary, especially with the Fannie/Freddie mess — Barney Frank is not remotely an idiot. His replacement? Hoo boy. She makes Forrest Gump look like Dwight MacDonald.

Fortunately, America is not facing an economic crisis, much of it centered on the financial industry. Therefore, we can afford to have nitwits like her in positions of elite political leadership.

UPDATE: I agree, Barney Frank can be a hilarious guy. I like his wit. The Atlantic has a nice video collection of his greatest smart-aleck hits.