Many of you will already have noticed the story in the LA Times about the bonanza Sen. Stevens (R) pulled off in his own real estate deal. Says the lede of the Times piece: "Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) made $822,000 last year from the sale of a controversial real estate investment with an Anchorage developer who had obtained a huge federal contract with his help."

This and the CunningScam story led one TPM Reader to suggest that it may not be low interest rates so much as high-rolling Republican members of Congress who are responsible for the nation's real estate boom.