BOB SHIEFFER: Just when we thought it couldn’t get any worse now we find that this sloppy paperwork by the lenders may have made some of these foreclosures now that are being contemplated invalid. Some of the biggest lenders are now freezing foreclosures until they can get all this straightened out. I guess the first question I would have is does the administration favor some kind of national moratorium on these foreclosures to get this all sorted out?

DAVID AXELROD: First of all, Bob, it is a serious problem. It’s thrown a lot of uncertainty into the housing market that is, you know is already fragile. And it’s — and it’s bad for the housing market and it’s bad for these institutions which is why they’re scrambling –

BOB SCHIEFFER: Hm.

DAVID AXELROD: –now to– to go back through and– and– and through their documentation for all of this as they should. The President was concerned enough to veto a bill that came to him last Thursday, that would have unintentionally made it perhaps easier to make mistakes. And, so we are concerned. We’re working with these institutions. I’m not sure about a national moratorium because there are, in fact, valid foreclosures that — that– that probably should go forward. And where the documentation and paperwork is — is proper, but we are working closely with these institutions to make sure that they expedite the process of going back and reconstructing these and throwing out those that don’t work.

BOB SCHIEFFER: Well, I mean, I guess people are worried about what do you think the impact this is going to have on an economy that’s pretty shaky right now anyway?

DAVID AXELROD: Well, look, our hope is that this moves rapidly and that this gets unwound very, very quickly and that they — they — they can go back reconstruct their paperwork and what we’ve stressed to them is that they need to expedite that process and work very, very quickly to get it done. And we’re going to continue to — to push for them.

This is tantamount to the White House saying: “We think the banks should just deal with this themselves, and despite the now tremendous evidence of systemic fraud in mortgage documentation, we trust them to do so appropriately.”

Granted, there is no easy solution here. Seizing the housing markets right now could force a double-dip in house prices, putting more people underwater, begetting more unemployment. But saying that the White House is working for banks rather than advocating for homeowners seems wrong.

Instead, the White House might consider saying something like this: “We’re not going to let banks repossess any home without due process. That is not to say we’ll halt foreclosures, but that we’re assuring homeowners we’re on their side. At the same time, we’re working to bolster the HAMP program, and considering pushing forward right-to-rent and cramdown legislation as well. Those programs will help families through the foreclosure crisis, keeping them in their homes while, secondarily, assuring stability in the banking sector and in mortgage finance.”

Bank of America on Wednesday announced that it will phase out its financing for companies that focus on mountaintop coal mining. That process — in which miners blast the tops off of mountains and push the rock, soil and other waste material into the surrounding streams and valleys — often ravages drinking water sources, ecosystems and communities, particularly in the Appalachian states of Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky.

From the company’s statement:

Bank of America is particularly concerned about surface mining conducted through mountain top removal in locations such as central Appalachia. We therefore will phase out financing of companies whose predominant method of extracting coal is through mountain top removal. While we acknowledge that surface mining is economically efficient and creates jobs, it can be conducted in a way that minimizes environmental impacts in certain geographies.

Perhaps not coincidentally, the policy change came just one day after the Bush administration finalized a new rule that will make it easier for mining companies to dump their waste into live streams.

Environmentalists, long-opposed to mountaintop mining, are cheering BoA’s decision. From the statement issued Wednesday by Rainforest Action Network:

“Bank of America’s decision is a giant leap forward in the fight against mountaintop removal coal mining, which has devastated Appalachian communities and the mountains and streams they depend on,” said Rebecca Tarbotton, director of Rainforest Action Network’s Global Finance Campaign, which has pressed Bank of America since October 2007 to cease financing of mountaintop removal mining and coal-fired power plants. “We hope that Citi, JP Morgan Chase and other banks follow Bank of America’s lead.”

President-elect Barack Obama has indicated plans to reverse a number of the Bush administration’s more controversial regulations when he takes over the White House next year. But these rules sometimes take years to craft — and could take at least as long to reverse. Whether the incoming president wants to spend some of his precious political capital on such a regional issue is yet to be known.