Katie Couric's Notebook: Autos
Except for some working capital, he's slamming the federal checkbook shut for now, saying the carmakers will get no more taxpayer money unless they show they can stay in business. The government thinks the proposals submitted so far are simply not good enough.
So, auto workers who have already made sacrifices will have to make more. And anyone who thinks the White House is bluffing can just ask GM's now former CEO Rick Wagoner. By ousting him, the administration sent a clear message that it is at the wheel.
Bankruptcy, which once seemed like a last resort, is now a real possibility. Chrysler and GM face a long road -- littered, not with potholes, but craters.
It will no longer be paved with federal dollars. And the millions who depend on these two companies now realize the President drives a very hard bargain.
That's a page from my notebook.