Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com Autoblog http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/feedlogo.gif Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com en-us Copyright 2013 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Romney claims credit for auto industry recovery, still opposes bailout]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2012/05/08/romney-claims-credit-for-auto-industry-recovery-still-opposes-b/http://www.autoblog.com/2012/05/08/romney-claims-credit-for-auto-industry-recovery-still-opposes-b/http://www.autoblog.com/2012/05/08/romney-claims-credit-for-auto-industry-recovery-still-opposes-b/#commentsFiled under: , ,



The Detroit News reports presidential hopeful Mitt Romney believes he deserves credit for the auto industry's recovery, despite the fact that he adamantly opposes the bailout. While speaking with a Cleveland, Ohio television station, Romney said he deserves "a lot of credit" because he supported the idea of managed bankruptcy. But both President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama believed General Motors and Chrysler couldn't survive the process without backing from the United States Treasury.

Meanwhile, in a 2008 opinion article for The New York Times, Romney warned the bailout would mean the end of the American automotive industry, saying "It won't go overnight, but its demise will be virtually guaranteed."

Through the lens of hindsight, we know that statement was a bit exaggerated. Both Chrysler and GM are on the right path, with the companies posting profits in North America. The Detroit News reports the auto bailout is an important topic in two crucial swing states: Ohio and Michigan.

Romney claims credit for auto industry recovery, still opposes bailout originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 08 May 2012 11:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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President George W. Bush recently spoke to a gathering of auto dealers in Las Vegas, saying that while he believes in the free market under normal conditions, he doesn't regret the $700 billion bailout fund used to rescue General Motors and Chrysler from the brink of collapse. Bush was quoted as saying he'd do it again, and that he didn't want there to be a 21 percent unemployment rate. The former leader avoided addressing remarks from the current gaggle of Republican presidential candidates who have criticized his decision to lend a hand to banks, insurers and automakers.

"If you make a bad decision, you ought to pay," Bush said. "Sometimes circumstances get in the way of philosophy."

Bush championed a $17.4 billion bailout for the two automakers in December of 2008 as part of the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has said both Bush and current President Barack Obama were mistaken in bailing out the auto industry. Instead, Romney believes GM and Chrysler should have been allowed to go into a controlled bankruptcy from the start.

Bush says he'd pull the trigger on auto bailouts again originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>automotive bailoutbailoutbarack obamachryslergeneral motorsgeorge bushgeorge w bushgmmitt romneytarptroubled asset relief programTue, 07 Feb 2012 10:29:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/20165990/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2012/02/07/bush-says-hed-pull-the-trigger-on-auto-bailouts-again/20165990/article-detail.xml 20165990 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2012/02/gyi0056392389_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2012/02/gyi0056392389.jpg <![CDATA[Bush defends auto bailouts]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2010/11/08/bush-defends-auto-bailouts/http://www.autoblog.com/2010/11/08/bush-defends-auto-bailouts/http://www.autoblog.com/2010/11/08/bush-defends-auto-bailouts/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

George Bush Senior, George W. Bush

Former U.S. President George W. Bush is set to release his memoirs under the title Decision Points on Tuesday, November 9. The book is slated to delve into the eight years of the Bush Administration, touching on everything from the war in Iraq to the reasoning behind various economic policies. The Detroit News was able to get its hands on a pre-release copy of the text and found Bush had committed to bailing out the auto industry as early as November of 2008, despite having misgivings about government intervention in private industry and the management of both Chrysler and General Motors.

Still, the memoirs say that the move was designed to "safeguard American workers from widespread collapse."

Additionally, The Detroit News reveals that Bush finally decided to pull the trigger on the bailouts to keep Barack Obama from having to make a decision on the situation right off the bat. Bush writes that "I had to keep my successor in mind. I decided to treat him the way I would have liked to have been treated if I were in his position."

Decision Points will be released simultaneously in the U.S. and Canada in hardcopy, e-reader and audio formats.

[Source: The Detroit News | Image: Getty]

Bush defends auto bailouts originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 08 Nov 2010 19:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>bushbush administrationdecision pointsgeorge bushgeorge bush decision pointsgeorge w bushMon, 08 Nov 2010 19:24:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/19707979/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2010/11/08/bush-defends-auto-bailouts/19707979/article-detail.xml 19707979 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/11/bush_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/11/bush.jpg <![CDATA[Former President Bush asks Obama to exit the car business]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2009/10/26/former-president-bush-asks-obama-to-exit-the-car-business/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/10/26/former-president-bush-asks-obama-to-exit-the-car-business/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/10/26/former-president-bush-asks-obama-to-exit-the-car-business/#commentsFiled under:



When Former President George W. Bush spoke to the Montreal Board of Trade recently, he made a public appeal to the Obama administration to "get out of the private sector," adding "I hope our government gets out of the autos and the financials in which they have a stake." His premise is that it takes private companies to turn an economy around, not government-run ones.

As we have found out during America's recent economic troubles, a lot of people find it easy to say a lot of things when they're not on the hook. And the former Commander-in-Chief isn't the first (nor the only) ex-President to offer such advice; they've all done it - he's only the most recent. But this is coming from the man whose VP sold him out as giving TARP money to prevent General Motors and Chrysler bankruptcies on his watch. Lest we forget, Bush is also the man who said:
"Well, I have obviously made a decision to make sure the economy doesn't collapse. I've abandoned free market principles to save the free market system. I think when people review what's taken place in the last six months, uh, and put it all in one, in one, (sigh), you know, in one package, they're realize how significantly we have moved."
Forget about politics, it isn't even that what Bush has said is wrong, per se - by most accounts, the American government shouldn't be in the car business nor the retail banking business, and the current administration agrees with that, having said repeatedly it wants to get out of both. But they inherited the issue, and now it's up to them to figure out the best way out of it. Hat tip to Avinash!

[Source: Bloomberg | Image: Getty]

Former President Bush asks Obama to exit the car business originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Bushchrysler bankruptcyChryslerBankruptcyfinancialsgeneral motors bankruptcyGeneralMotorsBankruptcyGeorge Bushgeorge w bushGeorgeBushGeorgeWBushgovernmentObama administrationObamaAdministrationTARPTARP moneyTarpMoneyMon, 26 Oct 2009 12:58:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/19208445/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2009/10/26/former-president-bush-asks-obama-to-exit-the-car-business/19208445/article-detail.xml 19208445 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/10/obama-with-gw-bush-getty-630_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/10/obama-with-gw-bush-getty-630.jpg <![CDATA[REPORT: Cheney says Bush left GM bankruptcy for the next guy]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/09/cheney-bush-left-gm-bankruptcy-for-the-next-guy/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/09/cheney-bush-left-gm-bankruptcy-for-the-next-guy/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/09/cheney-bush-left-gm-bankruptcy-for-the-next-guy/#commentsFiled under: , ,



The writing's been on the wall for years: GM would have to declare bankruptcy if it had any hope of restructuring in order to survive in the long-term. And though the Obama administration's effective take-over of General Motors was hardly the first case of the government nationalizing a private company, President George W. Bush didn't want to be the one to do it.

This, according to former vice-president Dick Cheney, who reportedly admitted in a recent interview on Fox News that the Bush administration floated the $17.4 billion auto industry bailout package in order to give the outgoing administration enough time to exit and for the next administration to settle in before the house of cards in Detroit came tumbling down. According to Cheney, President Bush "decided that he did not want to be the one who pulled the plug just before he left office."

[Source: Motor Authority | Image: Mark Wilson/Getty]

REPORT: Cheney says Bush left GM bankruptcy for the next guy originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 09 Jun 2009 08:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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