Ironic or appropriate? Wagoner up for "Michiganian of the Year"
Depending on your point of view, General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner could either be considered a Godsend or a pariah that represents all that's currently wrong with the country. Of course, we're referring mainly to the automotive bailout that the CEO helped (or hindered, again depending on your viewpoint) negotiate with the Feds and its impact on the jobs of thousands of Michigan workers. Regardless, Mr. Wagoner has been nominated for the "Michiganian of the Year" trophy by The Detroit News. That oughtta ruffle a few feathers.
Also up for the award, and perhaps equally as divisive, is John Dingell, the recently displaced chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce. These men are just two of the choices mentioned by the newspaper, which has polled Michigan residents annually since 1978 for the award. Submissions are now open, and you can either cast a vote towards one of the preselected candidates or fill in your own.
[Source: The Detroit News]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Librapaj 4:01PM (12/29/2008)
Irony: Wagoner being named Michiganian Of the year
Source: Oxford English Dictionary
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Polly Prissy Pants 6:53PM (12/29/2008)
This should surprise no one. These kinds of awards are given based on being rich and famous. Competence, ability and achievement typically have very little to do with it. Considering the pool of rich and famous you have to choose from in Michigan it's no wonder he's at the top of the list.
BigMcLargeHuge 4:13PM (12/29/2008)
Many of the other nominees gave their time to charity. Some of them are quite remarkable.
I do not consider Wagoner being paid to lobby for a bailout charitable work.
Unless being Michiganese means rewarding begging more than giving, I'd say its ironic.
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a 4:35PM (12/29/2008)
shameless.
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WeX 4:36PM (12/29/2008)
Haha, keep those bubbles coming!
Maybe that nomination says more about the michigans than Wagoner?
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jimesq 4:37PM (12/29/2008)
April foo.......Oh, its not even January yet. I cant figure this one out.???
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Sea Urchin 4:45PM (12/29/2008)
This is so funny. Look i know that most people who are commenting a hacks, but as far as 5 months ago this guy had absolute support of 99% of people in here and of the board of directors.
This guy has been running/ruining the company since 2000, no one had problem with that, but as soon as credit crunch hit suddenly people started getting their heads out of the sand and saying...hey maybe this guy doesn't know what he is doing and maybe he doesn't deserve 17 million dollars a year.
GM is gone, Wagoner killed it. The only man who can turn it around now is Obama, either he will throw another 20-25 billion more at GM alone or the company will die.
While we at it, why not give the Mortgage man of the year award to Barney Franck and Peace award to hamas.
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Pokey 5:42PM (12/29/2008)
Wagoner didn't kill GM. Look at all the progress GM has made since 2000, as far as the quality of their products are concerned.
Yes, he may have made some questionable decisions, but he made some good decisions also. He's no worse than the thousands of other overpayed jackasses out there.
I'm not saying he deserves this "award", there are many more deserving people. I just wish people would stop acting like the downfall of GM was all his fault. The downfall started LONG before Wagoner took the helm.
Sea Urchin 8:13PM (12/29/2008)
The ignorance is amazing. Pockey you should work for government. How is it that a CEO of 8 years, under whom the company goes bankrupt is not responsible?
Razor 12:16PM (1/03/2009)
What the hell does Obama know about running a car company? He's never been in charge of anything in the private sector. All he's been able to do is successfully bring home the pork for Illinois. It's going to take a business man to fix the car companies, not big brother.
tommy e 4:56PM (12/29/2008)
Considering he is not a car guy yet knew that there should be one at the very top of management and then hired one, Lutz, was huge. I doubt the #2, 3 or 4 guy in charge of Chrysler or Ford has a love for cars like Lutz. Wagoner recognized that most of the crap he's had to deal with was the result of business men, politicians and accountants ruining their cars. America's love for the automobile is alive and well and we don't buy watered down junk, we buy car's with soul and style. Wagoner understands this, has rescued GM during the credit crisis and also has a MBA from Harvard so I'd say he does deserve this award.
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Beastage 5:02PM (12/29/2008)
oh come on! based on this year maybe he deserves it... why?
Because GM situation is the result of many years but the last few years were excellent in the progress GM made, so many brilliant cars are now coming from GM... new technologies and good designs.
The credit crunch caught GM in a bad but survivable position and pushed past the point of self maintenance.
Let's face it, GM are making some good cars now.
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ronnie schreiber 5:07PM (12/29/2008)
I don't care who they nominate as long as they don't call it Michiganian of the Year. "Michiganian" is lame, the correct word is Michigander. Folks who use "Michiganian" are putting on airs to avoid the goose jokes. Calling someone from Michigan an Michiganian is like calling a resident of Manchester, UK a "Manchesterer" or "Manchesterite" instead of Mancunian. It's just wrong, even if the DetNews style guide says otherwise.
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Mr.T 6:05PM (12/29/2008)
Next coach of the Detroit Lions!!!!!!
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sbessette91 6:07PM (12/29/2008)
Yeah, maybe it's because Michigan set the bar so high (sarcasm). I'm looking at you Kwame.
Hell, if we're going to take this route, shouldn't it be Mulally?
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Sea Urchin 8:46PM (12/29/2008)
Why not nominate the TAXPAYER. They are paying GM employees.
Billy C. 8:04PM (12/29/2008)
People from welfare states like Michigan tend to think that the guy who brings home the government bacon is more important than the guy who actually earns his living. Wagoner is a shoe-in!
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ronnie schreiber 4:56PM (12/30/2008)
Califonians have more debt, public and private, than Michigan does, including the domestic automakers.
The state of California is over $30 billion in the red. 60,000 homes are being foreclosed there. Cities and counties are declaring bankruptcy.
New York is almost as bad.
Even big Dick, Shelby's sweet home Alabama has a 15% budgest gap and is 1.2 Billion in the red.
Compare that to Michigan with a 2.7% budget gap and a deficit of $600 million. It's 43rd on the list of state budget gaps.
I know it feels good for you to make quasi-racist comments about Michigan, but the fact is that state government in Michigan has been better run than most states. We have a constitutionally mandated balanced budget and regardless of who's been in power in Lansing, the state handles its books much better than just about every other state.
Billy C. 10:12PM (12/30/2008)
That may be true Ronnie, but Detroit is one of the top welfare cities in America. Its a cultural thing.
jpm100 8:26PM (12/29/2008)
Some of these comments remind me of a bad episode of Mattlock where the police break in and arrest the guy standing over a dead body even though he just walked up to the dead body shortly before.
GM's state, whatever the reasons, has been decades in the making.
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