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It Must Be OK Then
President-elect Barack Obama has “given his approval” for President Bush’s $17.4 billion bailout package for the “Big 3” automobile manufacturers in Detroit. It must be OK then for Bush to defy the will of Congress in this case; Obama says so, and so mote it be.
From Chicago (AP):
President-elect Barack Obama says the steps being taken to keep American automakers in business are necessary ones.
Obama says the nation can’t “squander” the chance to change bad management practices at the companies.
He says it’s “absolutely necessary” to restructure the companies to save the industry, while also working toward creating “fuel-efficient cars of tomorrow.”
Obama is responding to President George W. Bush’s decision to offer more than $17 billion in rescue loans to the auto industry.
He said in a statement earlier in the day that if the industry collapses, it would have “devastating consequences for our economy and our workers.”
So President-elect Obama has voices his endorsement of President Bush’s end run around Congress and Bush’s auto bailout package that includes the 2009 wage cuts that both the UAW labor union and the Senate Democrats were against.
This restructuring will require meaningful concessions from all involved in the auto industry — management, labor unions, creditors, bondholders, dealers, and suppliers.
Automakers must meet conditions that experts agree are necessary for long-term viability — including putting their retirement plans on a sustainable footing, persuading bondholders to convert their debt into capital the companies need to address immediate financial shortfalls, and making their compensation competitive with foreign automakers who have major operations in the United States.
— President George W. Bush
White House Press Release,
9:01 AM EST, December 19, 2008
Will Obama’s followers accept his agreement with President Bush’s actions and bailout plan, or will they cry foul? Can the Left stomach Barack Obama’s agreement with their archenemy, Bush and his praise of a plan that some described as “Union Busting?”
If the Left doesn’t have collective apoplexy over Obama’s praise of Bush auto bailout plan, how will they be able to continue complaining with any effectiveness about: the many times that President Bush previously defied Congress, the misuse of the Wall Street bailout monies – that’s where the $17.4 billion is coming from – and the Conservatives’ disapproval of the behavior of many large labor unions?
On the other hand, if the Liberals do protest this, what then? Obama has praised this bailout package and thereby made it OK in the minds of many. Will the Left go against the word of Obama?
Tags: Autos | Bush | Capitalism | Democrats | Detroit | Economy | Labor Unions | Leftists | Liberals | Obama | Politics | Republicans | Socialism | Soviets | UAW
