GM's Waggoner Begs For $10B Bailout... To Capture Chrysler

(MoneyWatch)  Bailouts are the name of the game these days and Rick Waggoner wants his cut.

The CEO of General Motors has been hounding the U.S. Treasury Department for about $10 billion so he can proceed with his takeover of Chrysler.
Why not? Treasury Secretary Henry "Hank" Paulson seems to be bailing out everyone else, such as banks, investment houses and insurance companies.

And, Waggoner is trying to make the case that GM is too big to fail and its demise would cause too much pain. Think of all the union worker salaries, the pension funds, the medical expenses that would all go swirling down the drain if GM fails. Particularly in such key election swing states as Michigan and Ohio.

Never mind that taken together, his firm, Chrysler and Ford lose about $2 billion each month.

Could it be that management skills have somehow been lacking? Could there be a reason why not many drivers want to buy GM's gas hogs any more?

Here's another example of a powerful CEO who long espoused the magic of the market not wanting the market to work at all.

In my home state of Virginia, the Republicans have a term for party members who don't follow conservative dogma. They call them RINOs (Republicans In Name Only).

Maybe there should be CINOs (Capitalists In Name Only), too.

This post first appeared on BNET's The Corner Office blog.