In an interview Tuesday with CNBC’s John Harwood, Obama maintained that these interventions didn’t begin on his watch. “When I came in … the previous administration had already put in $10 billion to shore up the auto companies and asked nothing in return,” he said.
“Now, I had three choices. I could continue giving them money without asking anything in return, I could let them liquidate in the midst of the worst recession since the Great Depression, or we could say, ‘We don't want to run your company. Would you show us a plan that allows you to stand on your own two feet, so that what we're providing is a meaningful bridge for you to get to a better future?’”
Obama concluded, “We chose option three. That's not something that we welcomed, and the sooner we can get out the better.”
Holy F*ing shit, he actually believes himself. Beg for Bush to give them money, then blame him for doing what you asked him to do... Where is the intellectual honesty. At least GWB was supposedly an idiot, whats Obama's excuse for what amounts to flat out lie. Where is the media challenge... I mean he got the kiddy gloves when he lied about being part of the civil rights protests... but this really takes the cake.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/11/us/po ... 1auto.htmlPublished: November 10, 2008
WASHINGTON — The struggling auto industry was thrust into the middle of a political standoff between the White House and Democrats on Monday as President-elect Barack Obama urged President Bush in a meeting at the White House to support immediate emergency aid.
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http://www.autoobserver.com/2008/11/oba ... elief.htmlObama Presses President Bush About Automaker Relief
November 11, 2008
By Bill Visnic
The Associated Press reports today that President-elect Barack Obama, meeting yesterday with President George W. Bush, "suggested" Detroit's reeling automakers need financial assistance -- and need it now. Obama appears to believe keeping the domestic automakers afloat is vital to keeping the nation's flagging economic engine firing -- but he does not become president until January.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid= ... lCucXR33JwNov. 13 (Bloomberg) -- President-elect Barack Obama is pushing Congress this year to approve as much as $50 billion to save cash-starved U.S. automakers and appoint a czar or board to oversee the companies, a move that would require President George W. Bush's support, people familiar with the matter said.
Obama's economic advisers are now convinced that if General Motors Corp. doesn't get a financial lifeline soon, it will have to file for bankruptcy by the end of January. And if the companies don't get almost $50 billion, Obama will be dealing with the issue again by next summer.
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Obama's Exception
By injecting himself into the talks about how to save General Motors, Obama is making an exception to his decision to steer clear of policy-making until he takes office.
The president-elect also wants the Federal Reserve to extend emergency loans to General Motors, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC, according to Obama aides who spoke on condition of anonymity.
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http://www.usnews.com/usnews/politics/b ... 081105.htmAutomakers Turn Focus To Obama
Unsuccessful in their effort to lobby Bush Administration officials to back industry bailout plans, US automakers are turning their attention to the President-elect, Barack Obama. The Wall Street Journal reports US auto makers "are turning their focus to lobbying the next president for emergency aid after unsuccessful efforts to persuade the Bush administration, an official for one of the Detroit auto makers said Tuesday."