THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC AUTO COMPANY

Posted at 12:54 p.m. ET

Mr. Obama, breaking from his pledge not to get involved in policy making until sworn in, is pushing a policy designed to "save" the auto industry, apparently from itself.  Bloomberg reports:

Nov. 13 (Bloomberg) -- President-elect Barack Obama is pushing Congress this year to approve as much as $50 billion to save cash-starved U.S. automakers and appoint a czar or board to oversee the companies, a move that would require President George W. Bush's support, people familiar with the matter said.

Obama's economic advisers are now convinced that if General Motors Corp. doesn't get a financial lifeline soon, it will have to file for bankruptcy by the end of January. And if the companies don't get almost $50 billion, Obama will be dealing with the issue again by next summer.

I don't know which is worse, bailing them out or having America's most symbolic industry run by a board appointed by a leftist administration.

The president-elect also wants the Federal Reserve to extend emergency loans to General Motors, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC, according to Obama aides who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The failure of those companies would likely bring down parts-makers, dealerships and suppliers in addition to inflicting a deep psychological blow.

If the plan were to offer no strong guarantees against layoffs it would likely draw fire from unions. But Obama advisers have been persuaded that the impact on current workers and retirees would be staggering if the companies went into bankruptcy.

Any auto czar or committee would presumably have the job of overseeing a restructuring of the auto industry.

You know, as Jack Benny used to say, I was thinking...

We didn't hear about any of this before the nominating conventions.  Then came the very conveniently timed economic meltdown, guaranteed to elect Obama.  Now we're talking moves that border on real socialism.  How did all this happen so fast, and at this particular time?  I'm not into conspiracy theories, but I wouldn't be opposed to a team of independent investigative reporters, if one could be found, looking into some of these remarkable coincidences.

``The auto industry is too big to fail,'' said Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at IHS Global Insight Inc. in Lexington, Massachusetts. ``While the Obama administration can wait until Jan. 20 to address other matters, on this one they need to move quickly.''

...A GM bankruptcy could send the U.S. jobless rate as high as 9.5 percent, up from a 14-year high of 6.5 percent in October, and produce a recession comparable in length to that of 1980-82, according to Behravesh.

``If it does collapse, it could make the recession deeper and longer,'' he said.

Questions:  What happens after the bailout?  What happens if they still can't produce cars Americans want?  Is this fair to other companies who have made quality cars with American workers, like Toyota and Honda?   And who audits the "chump change," like those hundred-thousand-dollar weekends in the Bahamas for "executives" who must meet there to project their grand visions...like the ones that wrecked their companies? 

November 13, 2008.