Praise for the White House auto bailout

No, I don't like it. Yes, I think that the UAW and others should have made some major concessions. Yes, I think that a guided bankruptcy--one that prevents the network of suppliers from needlessly going under--would have been a far better choice. Yes, I think that the prospect of the President unilaterally (and perhaps illegally) bailing the Detroit 3 out did prevent meaningful progress from being made in the Capitol. And yes, the eventual bill for bloated UAW contracts just got billions of dollars bigger. Don't forget for a minute that the government pays pensions of companies that go under with underfunded pension funds.

The bill is going to be huge, just like it was for the steel industry.

That said, do you think that things would have turned out better with a greater Democratic majority in Congress and Barack Obama in the White House? Do you think that Bush protected the UAW more than Obama and Pelosi would have?

As ugly as this is, it could have been worse.