THIS MAY BE THE ONLY TIME THAT GM WILL HAVE TO RECALL AN AD – AT 11:35 A.M. ET:  We've all seen it – that nice guy with the wholesome heartland accent assuring us that GM has paid back its federal loans.  Well, as the Brits say, there's a bit of bother.  From Fox:

General Motors is running ads on all the major networks this week claiming it has repaid its bailout from the taxpayers "in full." But the claim isn't standing up to scrutiny from lawmakers and government watchdogs who have found that the automaker was able to repay the bailout money only by dipping into a separate pot of bailout funds.

The TV spot may land GM in hot water with the Federal Trade Commission over its truth-in-advertising laws, which prohibit ads that are "likely to mislead consumers."

"We have repaid our government loans in full — with interest — five years ahead of the original schedule," says Ed Whitacre, chairman and CEO of General Motors Company, asking Americans to give the bankrupt company another look.

But a top Senate Republican has accused GM of misleading taxpayers about the loan repayment, saying the struggling auto giant was able to repay a $6.7 billion bailout loan only by using other bailout funds in a special escrow account.

Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley's charge was backed up by the inspector general for the bailout — also known as the Trouble Asset Relief Program, or TARP. Watchdog Neil Barofsky told Fox News, as well as the Senate Finance Committee, that General Motors used bailout money to pay back the federal government.

COMMENT:  Aw shucks, do we have to be such sticklers for the truth?  I mean, this is the age of Obama.  All those jobs created by the stimulus package.  All those foreign-policy victories.  What's a little hedging about which drawer the money comes from.  Give those Oldsmobile (deceased) and Pontiac (deceased) and Saturn (deceased) people a little break.

You know, for years we've urged GM to be creative.  Now that they're creative, we slam them.  What kind of people have we become?

April 24, 2010