It is important to remember something very important as you think about what role Washington, D.C. plays in a Presidential election year.

Everything can be boiled down to politics.  And I mean everything.

When the Bush Administration rolls out new plans on regulations for the financial markets, the mortgage industry and more, it's not just a typical story coming out of Washington, D.C.

That was clearly demonstrated Monday by Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, as they prowled the roads of Pennsylvania on Monday, jabbing at the Bush Administration, both more than ready to point an Economic Finger Of Blame.

"After years of a 'wait and don't see' approach to the regulatory failures that led to the housing and the credit crisis, they have announced a plan that comes late and falls short," said Clinton in the state capital of Harrisburg.

Both Democrats also publicly slammed the outgoing HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson, who announced his resignation on Monday in a news conference that was curiously timed to occur just as those new financial market regulations were being rolled out by the Treasury Department.

"Secretary Jackson's resignation amid a housing crisis and charges of cronyism serves as a stark reminder of what's at stake in this election," said Obama in a statement.

Remember the Campaign Mantra - Everything Is Political.

That works both ways, so don't complain about this phenomena as the days and weeks tick by, because if there is a story that puts one party on its heels, the other party will be more than happy to beat it with an Election Stick over and over and over again.

The same goes for Iraq.  Democrats turned up the heat on the Iraq War over the weekend amid an increase in violence in Basra and Baghdad.  But if the violence subsides, the political attacks will as well.

Hardly anything is normal in an election year in Washington, D.C.  And almost everything is political in a Presidential election year.

Sit back and enjoy the fireworks.