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December 09, 2008

Tuesday's auto bailout details scrutinzed

It looks like a mixed bag of good, bad and ugly in the evolving auto bailout deal.

The government would get a stock stake. Is 20 percent minimum too off-putting to existing investors? Well, as far as individual investors, Kirk Kerkorian could have either done a successful putsch against GM CEO Rick Wagoner or else started selling his GM holdings again.

An auto czar? All sorts of devils in the details. Is he a Bush guy or an Obama one? What sort of powers? How realistic of powers?

Bush Administration trustworthiness factor. He still wants something even tougher, but still slaps the financial sector on the back of the hand and we still don't even have a TARP czar.

A bonus? As the bill now stands, the Big Three would forfeit rights to challenge further special clean air acts by California.

If Congressional Dems had any nuts (and we know they don't) they'd insist that a fiscal-sector bailout czar be named, too. If not?

If GM literally can't hold out five and a half weeks until Jan. 20, then per Paul Krugman's original, now-retracted, comments, it's going to sink no matter what.

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