Appears so, which is obviously good news for those opposed to spending billions of taxpayer dollars to bailout failed companies. Like Michelle Malkin says, now isn’t the time to let-up on those anti-bailout calls to the White House.
President George W. Bush said on Monday an announcement on a auto industry rescue was not imminent, leaving the industry’s fate clouded in uncertainty for a little longer.
“We’re not quite ready to announce that yet,” Bush told reporters on Air Force One during a flight from Baghdad on an unannounced visit to Afghanistan.
He had been asked when he might make an anticipated announcement about tapping a $700 billion financial industry bailout fund to aid General Motors Corp, Ford Motor Co and Chrysler LLC.
Asked whether he was leaning toward using financial bailout funds, Bush said: “I signaled that that’s a possibility.”
Bush said a decision would not take long. White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said earlier that she had no timetable for a decision.
Following a surprise visit to Iraq, Bush was visiting Afghan President Hamid Karzai and addressing U.S. troops in Afghanistan before his presidency ends next month. It was not clear how much longer the trip would last.
Lawmakers on Sunday said they expect the administration to act soon to ward off a collapse of the U.S. auto industry, which could lead to millions of job losses. Republicans blocked a bailout in the Senate last week.
Sen. Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican, said the Treasury Department has been talking this weekend with automakers about their balance sheets.
“I don’t think they yet know what they’re going to do,” said Corker, who added that he spoke with White House officials Sunday morning.
It’d be nice if the last major thing this so-called “conservative” President did in office didn’t involve a government bailout that Democrats couldn’t even get on the same page for. If you’d like the President to hear your opinion, here’s the switchboard #: ( 202) 456-1414.
by Stephan Tawney on Sun, Dec 14, 2008