Bernard Madoff Fraud - An Isolated Incident or emblematic of Bush Era?

If I am not mistaken, it was Georg Bernard Shaw who said....
....At the time of decadance the Base Prosper.
When George W. Bush became president, the contrast between him and his predecessor Clinton was so stark that my belief strengthened that it was the beginning of the end of the glory days of a great Nation called United States of America.

And I remember of commenting in the early days of Bush administration that "When the people of bush rule the world, the Jungle's Law prevails!"

Debacle after debacle - from plaguing the world with unwarranted wars to a depression like economic situation around the world and bringing the US to the brink of losing its moral authority in the commity of nations - the nail in the coffin comes in shape of Madoff Fraud. The biggest victim of this Ponzi-style Scam are the charities serving the poor and downtrodden and the individulas with life-time savings invested with Mr. Madoff. 

Despite early warnings to SEC by various journalists, no attention was paid until it was too late. I cannot believe that it was simple oversight or even failure of the system. In my opinion, without regulator's complicity - and Bernard Madoff boasted at times that he has good relations with SEC people - fraud of such scale would not have been possible.

What do you think?