From last night’s “All-Stars.”
On Obama’s plan for the auto industry:
Obama owns GM, and I don’t know about you, Bret, but I’m deeply reassured that the largest company in America is owned by a guy with the vast private sector experience of Barack Obama.
His speech today, as always, was eloquent, and it appeared clear, but it really is not. It’s not exactly clear what he is aiming at.
As I understand it, I think, though, the plan here is to send GM into Chapter 11, either a real Chapter 11 or a disguised one in 60 days, and to send Chrysler over to Fiat or the wolves, whichever will take it.
With GM, the reason that I suspect it is going to end up in Chapter 11 is because he would not have offered the guarantee on warranties otherwise. The reason people are worried about a Chapter 11 is, that the argument is if that happens, people will not have confidence in the company, and the sales will dissolve.
But you have got to ask yourself as a constitutional aside where in Articles II of the constitution is the president allowed to unilaterally guarantee auto warranties? I mean, tomorrow it will end up — we started with bank deposits, money markets, auto warranties, and tomorrow it’s toasters.
But if you have Democrats in power, nobody asks about the constitutional questions.
On the administration’s efforts to reach out to Iran:
Well, there is a conference tomorrow in the Hague where our secretary of state will be there. They will talk about Afghanistan, and the Iranians will be there. It will be our first high- level contact.
And I think it will amount to absolutely nothing. It is more charade and kabuki. The Iranians have no common interest in Afghanistan with us.
There is an assumption that because Iran is Shia and Al Qaeda is Sunni, they want to help us in Iran. It is the exact opposite — I mean in Afghanistan. It is the exact opposite.
A year and a half ago, the coalition forces intercepted a shipment of armor piercing IEDs which were headed into Afghanistan. The State Department in June of 2007 had said there was undeniable evidence of the Iranians helping our enemies in Afghanistan.
So this idea of a common purpose is silly.
This is going to help relieve Iran’s diplomatic isolation. It is not going to help us in Afghanistan, and I don’t see any hope at all of this thawing, as we see it, helping us on the nuclear issue in Iran.