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The 31-Year-Old in Charge of Dismantling G.M.
NY Times ^ | 06/01/2009 | Free America

Posted on 06/01/2009 8:36:45 AM PDT by Free America52

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To: Peter W. Kessler

$150 says he refers to a #2 Phillips as the screwdriver with a star on it.

Metrosexual.


41 posted on 06/01/2009 9:40:15 AM PDT by usmcobra (Your chances of dying in bed are reduced by getting out of it, but most people still die in bed)
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To: MAD-AS-HELL
"...I, for one, hope he has success as he will prove that sometimes having too much experience is necessarily a good thing..."

I presume from the tone of your post that you meant to say "NOT necessarily a good thing..." Nothing personal here, but that statement is pretty silly.

In what circumstances is having less experience a good thing?

Roofing your house? Hope you got lots of buckets.

Arguing a legal case for you? Ever see what happens to the vast majority of people who represent themselves?

Pulling a tooth? Well, I suppose once you are under, your dentist could use vise grips and you couldn't tell.

Flying your airliner? I will take the 65 year old guy over the 25 year old guy any day of the week.

Politician? Sure, I will concede that, as long as they aren't arguing for legislation I want to see passed.

Fixing your car? As long as it is under warranty, you don't have to pay, and aren't worried about being stranded on the roadside.

Database engineer? Well...as long as your livelihood doesn't depend on that database, you are probably okay.

Brain Surgeon? Heck, isn't that why God gave us TWO sides to the brain? If one gets totally balled up because the surgeon mistakes one blood vessel for another, you still have the other side of your body to feed your mouth with. If you are lucky.

Soldier? Do you want your Special Forces guys right out of Boot Camp, or do you want them to have an average of 8-12 years of experience? And why is that?

The bottom line is: Experience is good. It is valuable. It is why people who have done a job for twenty years get more money from companies and are better at it than guys fresh out of high school.

It is a nice populist touch to say "Screw the Ivy Leaguers and professional executives who get fat off of screwing the poor union workers with high school diplomas" but in reality, your claim holds no water at all.

None.

This is not to say a breath of fresh air and a new perspective is not important and/or valuable, but if you are going to make a meal out of a breath of fresh air, you are going to go hungry.

As I said, this is nothing personal against you. I simply think that statement is completely and totally unsupported by reality, which is why we are in such dire straits with a person like Barack Obama running the government.

And by the way: Reagan was an accomplished politician and very successful governor long before he ran for President. The people who called him a 'B-grade movie star' thought that someone like George McGovern or Adali Stevenson would make a great president.

42 posted on 06/01/2009 9:45:47 AM PDT by rlmorel ("The Road to Serfdom" by F.A.Hayek - Read it...today.)
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To: Free America52

The sad thing is is that he is probably more qualified than our leader.


43 posted on 06/01/2009 9:47:56 AM PDT by b4its2late (There is always one more imbecile than you counted on.)
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To: rlmorel

Your points are all well taken but I clearly said in some instances having no experience can be a good thing. You bring up situations where obviously you do want experience but this is a situation where I’ll grant him a waiver.

Again, why are you so concerned about this when these companies already have failed? it’s like getting upset at a plastic surgeon resident doing a procedure on a corpse. In this case, this kid might be able to resurrect a dead company.


44 posted on 06/01/2009 9:49:11 AM PDT by MAD-AS-HELL (Hope and Change. Rhetoric embraced by the Insane - Obama, The Chump in Charge)
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To: hoosiermama

I need a new keyboard - thanks


45 posted on 06/01/2009 9:49:52 AM PDT by DieNarrin (Artificial Intelligence is no match for Natural Stupidity!)
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To: usmcobra
Ah...how I miss that '66 Chevy with the L-78 396.
Now; there was a hot machine !
46 posted on 06/01/2009 9:51:14 AM PDT by Eric in the Ozarks
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To: usmcobra
$150 says he refers to a #2 Phillips as the screwdriver with a star on it.

$150 says he thinks a Phillips Screwdriver is Milk of Magnesia and Ketel One Vodka.

47 posted on 06/01/2009 9:52:18 AM PDT by Tijeras_Slim
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To: usmcobra

This.
Is.
Simply.
Appalling.


48 posted on 06/01/2009 9:52:22 AM PDT by rlmorel ("The Road to Serfdom" by F.A.Hayek - Read it...today.)
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To: usmcobra

$150 says he refers to a #2 Phillips as the screwdriver with a star on it.

Metrosexual.

I’ll bet he thinks a screwdriver is orange juice and vodka... tools thats what them thar gun toting, religous nuts play with.


49 posted on 06/01/2009 9:52:47 AM PDT by DieNarrin (Artificial Intelligence is no match for Natural Stupidity!)
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To: MAD-AS-HELL

As much as I hate it (only because he is an O’Bama guy and therefore probably way left of center) I agree with you. There are people out there that have great common sense and street smarts. Once they were appreciated in this country, but since the 70’s know one has been willing to listen to anyone who doesn’t have a bunch of letters behind their names. It was the, JD’s MBA’s and PhD’s and academics that got us into this mess. Maybe we need some run of the mill guys making decisions for awhile.


50 posted on 06/01/2009 9:52:52 AM PDT by redangus
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To: rlmorel

btw, the government is rife with incompetent hacks who are given positions they don’t deserve due to nepotism, frienship, contributions etc and they are never visible. AT least this guy is front and center. Where is your anger at that? Maybe it’s not there because you aren’t aware of it. And if you don’t like this, the best advice is to run for office and do what you can to change it. But the cold hard facts is that NO ONE really wants to touch this issue and thus why this guy has the position he has. But I guess you and others want to see him fail.


51 posted on 06/01/2009 9:54:38 AM PDT by MAD-AS-HELL (Hope and Change. Rhetoric embraced by the Insane - Obama, The Chump in Charge)
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To: Free America52

It is much easier to dismantle something than to build it so it runs properly.


52 posted on 06/01/2009 9:57:23 AM PDT by Andy from Chapel Hill
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To: MAD-AS-HELL

I am concerned about it BECAUSE BILLIONS UPON BILLIONS OF MY GODDAMNED HARD EARNED TAXPAYER DOLLARS AND THE HARD EARNED TAXPAYER DOLLARS OF MILLIONS OF OTHER AMERICANS ARE BEING SHOVED DOWN THAT STINKING BLACK RATHOLE.

Whew. Sorry. Didn’t mean to yell there. But that is why. If it were MGM studios and they wanted to let him do it without involving my money, I would volunteer to donate his salary. But this is our money and our lives.

And this is someone with NO experience, not “less”. It is a political appointment to a hack with an unfinished degree in political science.


53 posted on 06/01/2009 9:57:31 AM PDT by rlmorel ("The Road to Serfdom" by F.A.Hayek - Read it...today.)
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To: redangus

thanks but you better put on some kevlar and hide because the knee jerkers on here who love to bitch and complain (ftr, I love to bitch and complain) are going to set their laser sights on you! :P


54 posted on 06/01/2009 9:57:41 AM PDT by MAD-AS-HELL (Hope and Change. Rhetoric embraced by the Insane - Obama, The Chump in Charge)
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To: rlmorel

Again, you are confusing two issues here. I agree with you about the waste of spending on GM and Chrysler and complete incompetence of the seasoned and experienced MBA car guys that ran those companies into the ground. But this article isn’t about that. It’s about the kid who is steering their comeback. So let’s focus like a laser beam on him and not the other issues which I agree with you on. You either want him to fail or succeed. It sounds like you want him to fail. I want him to succeed.


55 posted on 06/01/2009 10:00:46 AM PDT by MAD-AS-HELL (Hope and Change. Rhetoric embraced by the Insane - Obama, The Chump in Charge)
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To: MAD-AS-HELL
It’s about the kid who is steering their comeback.

If that's really the goal. Lot's of ideological baggage with this guy (as indicated in other posts), and it makes me wonder about the agenda.

56 posted on 06/01/2009 10:04:13 AM PDT by Tijeras_Slim
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To: Tijeras_Slim

if he does fail and obama fails, it will hurt him big time and hopefully the squandering republicans will capitalize on it by painting obama as the guy who killed the US car industry.


57 posted on 06/01/2009 10:05:14 AM PDT by MAD-AS-HELL (Hope and Change. Rhetoric embraced by the Insane - Obama, The Chump in Charge)
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To: MAD-AS-HELL
"...Where is your anger at that?"

Where do you get off saying that? I work hard and pay my taxes faithfully. Do you think I am not as angry as a person can be at where we are?

You think my sole reason for opposing this crap is that I want to see him fail? That's it? You make a completely ASININE statement, then act holier than thou when you cannot in any way back up that statement you made except as an opinion?

An opinion is fine. It is yours and you are welcome to it. I think it is a completely stupid opinion, especially since reading your last post.

I have a young guy who works for me. When he began to talk politics with me back in October, I asked him what he thought Obama had done to justify voting for him. This kid grins, spreads his hands and says "Absolutely nothing".

I was horrified to get that kind of response from a young, supposedly intelligent guy. But coming from a supposed conservative on Free Republic is appalling. Are you a conservative? Perhaps I am jumping to conclusions, not knowing your posting history.

58 posted on 06/01/2009 10:06:30 AM PDT by rlmorel ("The Road to Serfdom" by F.A.Hayek - Read it...today.)
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To: MAD-AS-HELL

I just have to wonder what constitutes “success” to this crowd, despite what they say. They don’t seem to think like a lot of us.


59 posted on 06/01/2009 10:06:49 AM PDT by Tijeras_Slim
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To: MAD-AS-HELL

Many smart people have tried to run GM and all failed. This one will be no different since the unions are still in place. I ask the question who will buy a GM product today especially if the Govt is involved. Unless GM gives a tax credit to buy it will fail again.


60 posted on 06/01/2009 10:13:22 AM PDT by Orange1998
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