The Osgood File.I'm Charles Osgood.
Bad things happen to good people, that's true. And it's also true that smart people do stupid things. Some prime examples, after this...
((( SPOT )))
The heads of the Big Three American car companies are smart fellows whose companies are in deep trouble. And that's why they were on Capitol Hill, begging Congress for money.
SOT - Alan Mulally, Ford CEO
"The industry has a critical need right now..." (:02)
SOT - Rick Wagoner, GM CEO
"Our revenue has been devastated..." (:02)
SOT - Bob Nardelli, Chrysler CEO
"The bankruptcy of any one automotive manufacturer, we believe, threatens the viability of all automakers." (:07)
They're smart enough to realize that if their companies go down, they'll take a lot of good people with them.
SOT - Rick Wagoner
"If the domestic industry were allowed to fail, the societal costs would be catastrophic." (:05)
Yet none of the three were smart enough to know that flying to Washington in three different corporate jets would not look good and might hurt their own cause.
SOT - Rep. Gary Ackerman, Democrat of New York
"It's almost like seeing a guy show up at the soup kitchen in high hat and tuxedo." (:04)
Congressman Gary Ackerman, Democrat of New York.
SOT - Rep. Gary Ackerman
"Couldn't you all have downgraded to first class or jet-pooled or something to get here? It would have at least sent a message that you do get it." (:07)
Wasn't there somebody on their staffs who would dare whisper in their bosses' ear that they were making a mistake? Congress reacted with caution.
SOT - Sen. Jeff Sessions, Republican of Alabama
"We need to be very, very, very cautious about choosing who we're going to reward with Federal taxpayer money." (:08)
You have to be cautious also about who you're going to punish. Mitt Romney is a pretty smart fellow, too. You know who he is, and he says the Big Three brass have to go.
SOT - Mitt Romney, former GOP presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Governor
"Look, you gotta get rid of the corporate jets, you got to get rid of the executive dining room..." (:05)
Harry Reid, the Senate Majority Leader, hopes the car companies and the UAW can be saved, somehow.
SOT - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada
"If we can't do it here legislatively, I would hope that the Secretary of Treasury would listen loud and clear, because they could take this into their own hands and do what I think is appropriate from their perspective." (:11)
But Treasury Secretary Paulson, another smart fellow, is against the bailout. He's the one who's urging lenders to lend and not sit on the money, while he finds it prudent to sit on most of the TARP money.
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The Osgood File. Charles Osgood on the CBS Radio Network.
The Osgood File. November 20th, 2008.