So, G.M. is going into bankruptcy, and the government’s going to own a big slice. Yep. Please raise your hand if you’re surprised. OK, seeing no hands up, let’s move on to what’s really interesting here: who exactly is going to be running G.M.
I think the answer lies in the video above. No, not just in the president’s remarks, where he says that he won’t be making the decisions — in the people who are in attendance at the remarks. Namely, in his auto task force.
So who are all these people standing with him? Well, from left to right, I spot:
Stephen Chu, Secretary of Energy
Hilda Solis, Secretary of Labor
Barack Obama — what’s that guy do?
Gary Locke, Secretary of Commerce
Ray LaHood, Secretary of Transportation and Natty Handkerchiefs
Peter Orszag, OMB Director
Next row:
Austan Goolsbee, member of the Council of Economic Advisers
Larry Summers, director of the National Economic Council
Carol Browner, assistant to the president for Energy and Climate Change
The Mayor from Spin City Jared Bernstein, Economic Adviser to VP Joe Biden
Back row:
Ron Bloom, senior adviser at Treasury
Gene Sperling, counselor to Geithner and member of the CEA
Ed Montgomery, Director of Recovery for Auto Communities and Workers
Steven Rattner, who I believe to be the Car Czar and possibly also the Worst Tie Picker in history
Not pictured: Tim Geithner, who’s in China, and about six other second-tier members of the auto task force, including the 31 year old that the New York Times seems to think is running this show, Brian Deese. I guess there’s only so many people you can fit in the Grand Foyer.
Image means a lot in Washington. Obama may be saying, today, that the government is going to keep its nose out of the new G.M., but we’re still a few months away from that new entity, and everyone standing behind him will have a say in what it looks like.
So what I’m most interested in here is that two people — Chu and Browner — are present from the energy/environment side. The way the administration has tied the success of the automotive industry to the cause of the environment is kind of fascinating. Chrysler is being pushed toward smaller, more eco-friendly models, and now it seems inevitable that G.M. will be pushed that way, too. These people — this task force — is built to do exactly that.
In case you’re wondering, as I did, who President Bush brought out with him when he announced the auto bailout, here’s the answer:
Bush stood alone and couched his discussion of the loans in almost completely business terms. He made no mention of the companies changing to fuel efficient models or of any goal to achieve energy independence, as Obama did in his speech.
I kind of like the new crowd.
SATURN SMITH 