President Obama's effort today to herald how the auto bailout helped Chrysler and General Motors survive came with a reminder that the car maker that refused any cash, Ford Motor Co., was just as successful.
As the president greeted workers at the end of their shift inside Chrysler's Toledo, Ohio Jeep Wrangler Paint Facility his motorcade readied to whisk him and his traveling entourage away. Included for the press: Ford vans. [Check out a roundup of this month's best political cartoons.]
From the pool report:
Campaign style, POTUS greeted workers as their shift ended at the Wrangler Paint Facility a few hundred yards from the plant where he spoke.
Workers were lined up in an inside corridor, then ushered one at a time through a turnstile to a small lobby where Obama waited in shirt sleeves for a quick handshake.
Some of the comments to him:
'Thank you for bailing out Chrysler.'
'Thanks for saving my job.'
'Thanks for helping me keep my job.'
Motorcade—with the press all in Ford vans—was rolling at 2:19 pm.
So far, the federal government has invested about $80 billion in Chrysler and General Motors and half has been returned. Ford did not receive nor request any bailout assistance.
"Oh the delicious irony: hauling the media around in Fords to cover the conclusion of the Chrysler bailout," said a GOP critic of the bailouts.
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Reader Comments Read all comments (2)
MATNC of NC 11:49AM June 08, 2011
Larry of CA 5:10PM June 03, 2011