Obama: We Are 'Reluctant Shareholders'

(NEWSER) - GM’s bankruptcy and semi-nationalization has everyone talking. Here’s what the papers are saying:

• “Welcome to Obama Motors, and what is likely to be a long, expensive, and unhappy exercise in political car making,” writes the Wall Street Journal. The government seems incapable of hands-off management, and Obama will have to renegotiate the UAW contract in an election year, pitting "Big Labor" against taxpayers. "Who do you think wins that White House debate?"

Former Mass. governor could turn around automaker, says Bennet

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama wants to "take a hands-off approach" with General Motors, but as James Bennet writes in the Atlantic, there's no way to get the bankrupt automaker back into shape "without getting under the hood." GM needs someone who can "bring the hammer down" on its admittedly "able" CEO. It's time to appoint someone who brings an auto legacy and outsider's skepticism to the table: Mitt Romney. More»

President has already shown he'll play hardball to resurrect a sputtering automaker

(NEWSER) - Chrysler’s spiral into bankruptcy may give the Obama administration leverage in drastically reshaping General Motors, David E. Sanger and Bill Vlasic write in the New York Times. GM bondholders now know Obama isn't kidding about bankruptcy court, and could fear being stuck with paltry court payouts. Obama's offer of 225 shares for each $1,000 in debt “may not be such a bad deal in the end,” one auto expert said. More»

President not afraid to use 'the big stick' on ailing firms

(NEWSER) - In announcing Chrysler’s bankruptcy, President Obama shows other troubled firms and industries there’s a point where bailouts stop and hard choices begin—and that message must ring especially clear at General Motors, writes Tom Walsh for the Detroit Free Press. GM’s creditors will now be under a lot of pressure to accept what Obama’s auto task force suggests—for fear of getting a worse deal in bankruptcy court. More»

Funds mean firm can keep working towards restructuring deadline

(NEWSER) - The Obama administration provided General Motors with another $2 billion in low-cost federal loans today, MarketWatch reports. The funds are intended to keep the company operating as it attempts to restructure ahead of a June 1 deadline. GM has so far received $15.4 billion in loans from the government. More»