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Least surprising headline of the day:
Politicians Butt In at Bailed-Out GM
– from today’s Wall Street Journal [2]
This headline called to mind this letter that I sent to Time back in June of this year:
On Monday President Obama proclaimed that G.M. “will be run by a private board of directors and management team. They, and not the government, will call the shots and make the decisions about how to turn this company around [3].” And yesterday, two high-ranking members of his administration, writing in USA Today [4], seemed downright insulted that anyone would doubt the President’s word that politics will “play no role” in running this company.
Alas, this political chicken wasted no time coming home to roost. You report today that “Top executives from General Motors and Chrysler face tough questions from lawmakers about sweeping plans to close hundreds of car dealerships as the auto companies undergo government-led bankruptcies” (“Senate Reviews Close of GM, Chrysler Dealers,” June 3).
The wonder is not that politicians are meddling. The wonder is that America is populated with a sufficient number of persons so gullible as to encourage Mr. Obama to issue his ‘no politics’ assurance with a straight face.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux