Obama is the first president that isn’t owned by lobbyists
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Lay off the kool aid man. Seriously? I’m no campaign finance expert, but that sounds like a line straight from a campaign add. I though McCain took the financing high road by going for public financing, and Obama did a little flip-flop on that issue. Not trying to say one is better or worse here…..that’s just what I remember happening.

There’s a lot more to the gov’t then the Obamesiah. Congress and the senate definitely receive the donations, and they write the laws. He signs them. So even if there is somehow a pure and upright executive come to save us from our sins, the lobbyists still hold tremendous power over what happens.

#44 statik says “Both the UAW and bond holders showed they have stones…big time. The gov’t has zero power now to get them to do anything. ”

I think you’re missing the forest for the trees. The government has all the cards, not the least of which is that they get to set the rules. Either the Obama admin gets what it wants from all the parties or: (1) it gets special legislation naming its “car czar” equivalent as the trustee and giving the bankruptcy court a very short time to render a decision and then forces bankruptcy; or (2) it gets Congress to pass pass legislation approving its recommendations directly. Either way works. They are hardly limited to the two options you’ve laid out.

As for showing that they have stones, there was no real threat once Bush told the Republican Senators that he would act if they didn’t. A lot of leverage disappeared after that. Yet even then a deal could have been worked out had the the Republicans been interested in getting one rather than in union busting.

Not sure about the GMAC deal. AFAIK the restructuring has to take place before GMAC becomes a bank holding company, and the big argument is over how much money GM and Cerberus will pony up. That is not a done deal by any stretch of the imagination.
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I don’t think so, but time will tell.

I don’t think anyone, (let alone the UAW/bond holders) think for one second that Obama will let them go bankrupt on March 31st, 2009 if they don’t capitulate.

We are to believe he is going to hardline them and let ‘American auto’ go under in the first 9 weeks of his administration, while at the same time introducing the biggest bailout/spending package since FDR?

His MAIN talking point is that he will create 2.5 (now 3 million) jobs when he takes office. Everyone keeps saying if Detroit auto goes under it will cost the economy 3 million jobs? So how can anyone believe him…talk about leverage disappearing. (unless you believe he is going to let Detroit auto go under, then create 6 million jobs, lol)

Anyway, doesn’t matter…we both have a different opinion…we are coming at it from different sides. The fact is that the free market is no longer involved here and that means hundreds of different scenarios can play out…rather than the solitary result if gov’t wasn’t involved.