creepy political voyeuristic tendencies ya got going there Ray...

I'd rather watch Congress do the right thing in spite of the few. There is no way to divine motive and I agree, the best idea is for him to recuse himself from votes involving GM.

However, one man's conflict of interest should not be an obstacle to the full problem/solution of the whole of Congress...even as chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, he is still only a cog in a big 3 wheel...

.. perhaps.. just perhaps the next 8 years will be more about right solutions and right governance instead of the politics of tantalizing scandals.

Dingell should recuse himself. I understand that he represents Detroit's interests and I don't blame him in advocating for them, but making federal allocations accordingly, is a definite conflict of interests.

I am not aware of Dingel, but the need to bail out GM has more to do with the hundred of thousands of jobs that would be effected if they went bankrupt.
The unemployed will not just be auto engineers actuall working at GM, but those working for the various suppliers of parts. Those working for dealerships also most of whom would be unskill.

Australia has given aid to keep GM in Australia. If the parent company collapse this would effect GM plants all over the world.

Aus22, if it weren't for the workers and overall economic suffering, I'd say let GM crash. Even when we bail out GM and say it's for the workers, I'll still feel like I've been had. They have those workers like hostages. GM gets to use them as bargaining chips to get the bail out like a terrorist uses hostages to his way.

I say let the government swoop in soon and with lightning speed to seize GM's financial records and those of their CEOs and head honchos. Call it suspicion of tax evasion, violation of antitrust law, violation of OSHA standards, improperly installed toilet paper rolls- whatever. Swoop in and get the records. Hey, it's the public tax dollars going to bail them out, call it 'right to know'. There must be some reason a multi billion dollar company needs a bail out, lets see what it is. And if we find one unaccounted for box of paper clips, fire the whole lot. Fire them and put then in jail for theft. That may be extreme, maybe, but what I'm getting at is there needs to be some hard core accountability. You don't get to screw up this bad and still land with a golden parachute.

What I'm seeing here is private profit and public loss. GM never sent me a profit sharing check but now I have to send them a check to cover their losses. Bullshit.

When Pan Am was going under (remember that Pan Am was the US flagship company) and was widely used by the military in our little conflict in southeast Asia, there was much talk, echoing Wes Clark (article I posted), that allowing PanAm to go belly up was ALSO a "national security" concern. History proved otherwise, and as much as I truly mire Clark, I believe that he may be wrong on the national security issue, but right about having 3 million plus people gather at the unemployment line.

Be that as it may, CG. You quite obviously are pushing for Gen. (Ret.) Wesley Clark to be a part of Barack Obama's government. (See previous posts.) Is it because he didn't back a bail-out of PanAm?

I'm, as usual, confused.

I can't presume to speak for CG and while I don't agree with GEN Clark about a GM bail out, I think he would be a good addition tot he Obama government.

for you and CG. Why?

Well, For instance, GEN Clark has a great deal of experience interacting with foreign governments and militaries around the world. While SACEUR he dealt not only with the other NATO member States but also with nations in the Easern European sphere, with the Balkin States, and with a great many African nations. When in charge of SOUTHCOM down in Panama, he built a wealth of experience dealing with Central and South American nations. He is arguably far more qualified for the position of Secretary of State than is Hillary Clinton.

LM, Liz, I was hoping for Clark in some position...but it looks as though H. Clinton will accept the post soon.

Retired Marine General James Jones will most likely be Obama's pick for Ntl. Security Adviser. He is a close friend of McCain, but not of Bush. He is a former Nato Commander with a stellar resume... He openly went against Rumsfeld's Iraq invasion. Another good Obama choice.