the credit crisis made (relatively) easy

David Leonhardt of the NY Times makes an effort to explain the credit crisis to laypeople.  It helps.  My favorite line:

I spent a good part of the last few days calling people on Wall Street and in the government to ask one question, “Can you try to explain this to me?” When they finished, I often had a highly sophisticated follow-up question: “Can you try again?”

Update: I just read another version, how Steve Waldman would explain the credit crisis to a kindergartener. [HT: BW]