[hunter112]

I'm starting to understand Bush strategy on this. The money has already been appropriated for the TARP program. We can debate the wisdom of that plan (I personally, like many here, thought it sucked) but it was the thing that Congress and the President did in order to try to get McCain elected.

What difference does it make if the TARP money goes to the financing arms of automakers or some overadvertising commercial bank? It's still pissed down a rathole, one way or another. We'll never see it back in any form from either source.

But this shoves the problem conveniently off to Zero's administration. He will have ENORMOUS pressures to do even more than Bush did, and will have to tell somebody 'no' at some point. Even if he gives the Big Three and the UAW everything they could possibly want, it won't sell cars, and will just increase the pressure from the other interest groups for Barry to wave his magic wand and make them whole.

He cannot do that indefinitely, every such move in that direction is another step in shutting down the economy. He will make this the Obamanation Depression. And the naive, stupid people who thought that chanting "Change" was enough will see just how very wrong they were. We know we've got a lot of hurting to do before we can get the ship righted again, we need it to be sooner rather than later to be able to survive it.

[Rutles4Ever]

The money has already been appropriated for the TARP program.

So what? American Express has appropriated $15,000 to me with their shiny plastic card, but I'm not required to go out and charge $15,000 worth of fortune cookies to my account.

[meyer]

...it was the thing that Congress and the President did in order to try to get McCain elected.

Getting McCain to vote in favor of something that over 80% of the people opposed is not "trying to get McCain elected". The bailout cost McCain the election. As I've said before, 1000 Sarah Palins could not drag his RINO butt to the winners circle - he's just too much socialist baggage.