All Blog Posts from Political Hotsheet

President Obama's word of the day is "fight." He used the words "fight" or "fighting" nine times in a brief speech to GM workers in Youngstown, Ohio.

In a campaign-style speech laced with populist themes, Mr. Obama repeatedly reminded the plant workers that he's fighting for them.

He told his audience, "As long as you've still got an ounce of fight left in you, I'll have a ton of fight left in me."

He also touched on his top domestic priority, declaring, "We are fighting for an America where no American should have to worry about going without health insurance or fear that one illness could cost them everything."

The president also announced plans for a new national standard designed to increase gas mileage and decrease greenhouse emissions for all new cars and trucks sold in the U.S. He predicted the action would give auto companies "long-overdue clarity, stability and predictability."

The president spoke near the production line where compact Chevy Cobalts are made. To the cheers of workers who build the cars, he said the model was among the most popular cars in the recent "cash for clunkers" program that paid new car buyers up to $4,500 to purchase more fuel efficient models.

GM has boosted production of the compact car and rehired laid-off workers at the plant where the president spoke.

Obama: Automakers Getting Back In Game

CBSNews.com Special Report: Health Care

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Peter Maer is a CBS News White House correspondent. This story was filed from Pittsburgh, Pa., where Mr. Obama speaks to the AFL CIO convention later today. You can read more of his posts in Hotsheet here.

House Republican whip Eric Cantor is comparing the economic policies of President Obama to those of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, the Associated Press reports.

Cantor told the AP that Mr. Obama's plans for the auto industry represent governmental micromanagement and said watching the administration operate is "almost like looking at Putin's Russia."

Cantor has previously opposed the administration's role in the bankruptcy of General Motors and claimed that GM investors "had their rights trampled" by the government.

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On the day that General Motors filed for bankruptcy, former Vice President Cheney said, he is "worried" about the political pressure companies succumb to when the government is the majority shareholder.

When the federal government, "gets into the business of running a major corporation, like GM, then all these political pressures come to bear" Cheney said during a luncheon at Washington’s National Press Club Monday.

He said he was worried that in government-owned companies decisions are made not for economic or business reasons but with political motivations.

Cheney praised the private free enterprise system and said a "healthy process" would be to "create new things and destroy old things" – seemingly a call for GM to have restructured earlier.

The former vice president echoed the Republican National Committee’s sentiment on the bankruptcy.

"Now we have a situation where I am concerned because government stepping in," Cheney lamented. "I do not like the precedent that we are setting here."

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While the Obama administration insists it will try to refrain from interfering with the day-to-day operations of General Motors, the Republican party is grabbing hold of the company’s bankruptcy to admonish President Obama for overreaching in the private sector. Meanwhile, conservative analysts say it will be all but inevitable for politics to unduly influence the company’s operations – which could impact GM's ability to become viable in a timely manner, result in unforeseen consequences for Ford and impact the greater economy.

The Republican National Committee on Monday released a web video called "Government Motors," calling Mr. Obama "our new president and CEO."

"No matter how much the President spins GM's bankruptcy as good for the economy, it is nothing more than another government grab of a private company and another handout to the union cronies who helped bankroll his presidential campaign," RNC Chairman Michael Steele said in a statement. "This is the real 'change' President Obama has in mind for America – government ownership of our economy financed with irresponsible and reckless government spending and debt and no jobs to show for it."

In fact, the president has said he would want to relinquish government-owned shares of GM back to the private sector as soon as possible – something conservative analysts say must happen at the risk of increasing political interference from both sides of the aisle.

Being a "hands-off" investor in the auto giant "is going to be very difficult, if not impossible," said James Gattuso, a senior research fellow at the conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation.

"As majority shareholder, the decision making will fall to the government, and there is intense political pressure from all sides to get involved," he said.

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President Obama went before the cameras today to discuss General Motors' bankruptcy filing as well as Chrysler's planned emergence from bankruptcy and the future of the United States auto industry.

The president said he recognized that the government's decision to take a 60 percent ownership stake in GM "may give some Americans pause." He said the administration has had to take steps "that we would not have otherwise even considered" because it inherited "a financial crisis unlike any that we've seen in our time."

"These steps have put our government in the unwelcome position of owning large stakes in private companies for the simple and compelling reason that their survival and the success of our overall economy depend on it," said Mr. Obama.

"What I have no interest in doing is running GM," he added. "GM will be run by a private board of directors and management team with a track record in American manufacturing that reflects a commitment to innovation and quality." (The board and management team, of course, will be answerable to the company's majority shareholder – the U.S. government.)

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As General Motors heads down the road to bankruptcy aided by taxpayer dollars, Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) says the U.S. is on the road toward socialism.

Speaking to The Early Show Friday, a day after the auto giant reached a deal — brokered by the U.S. government — with its bondholders that will eliminate the company's unsecured debt in exchange for stock, Shelby said bankruptcy was unavoidable, but that the decision should have been made six months ago.

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President Obama during his prime time news conference Wednesday night said he is hopeful Chrysler will remain a viable company--and that the federal government will be able to remove itself from the auto industry.

"I don't want to run auto companies, and I don't want to run banks," Mr. Obama said. "I've got two wars I've got to run already--I've got more than enough to do."

Chrysler faces a government-imposed deadline to finalize a partnership with Fiat SpA by this Thursday.

"I am more hopeful than I was 30 days ago that we can see a resolution," Mr. Obama said with respect to the deal, though he noted that the "clock is ticking."

The president said deals reached with Chrysler's major debtholders and sacrifices from labor unions improved the automaker's outlook for survival.

"The details have not yet been finalized, but I'm feeling more optimistic than I was about the possibilities of that getting done," Mr. Obama said.

He said, however, that it was "prudent" for Chrysler to prepare contingency plans, including filing for bankruptcy. Given the concessions made by debtholders, Mr. Obama said, it would be likely the company could emerge from bankruptcy proptection quickly.

The president said he saw potential in companies like General Motors, in spite of the fact that the current recession simply added onto the problems faced by an already-weak industry.

"I've always said GM has a lot of good products, and if they can get through these difficult times, they can emerge a strong, competitive viable company," he said.

Mr. Obama also added he would like to see the government extracted from auto business as quickly as possible. It is his responsiblity, he said, to ensure taxpayer dollars "are aimed not at short-term fixes that continue these companies as wards of the state."

He added that workers, as well as company stakeholders, will benefit from the government's assistance in the industry.

"We're going to be coming behind whatever plan is in place to make sure the federal government is providing as much assistance as it can to make sure people are landing back on their feet as we strengthen core businesses," he said.

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Appearing on CBS' The Early Show this morning, Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) discussed the announcements that General Motors and Chrysler are moving closer to bankruptcy filings in the coming weeks. The banking committee chair said he hopes the two car companies will be reorganized, rather than liquidated.

"Reorganization, while no one likes that option, it may be the best option to retain a strong auto industry in the 21st century for our nation," said Dodd. "I wish we had different results but the realities are what they are."

The Senate veteran, whose approval numbers have cratered in recent months, was hopeful that President Obama's calls to stop credit card abuses will lead to meaningful legislation. He said that though previous efforts address the problem have withered under intense lobbying by credit card companies, this time he believes that popular support is on the side of reform.

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Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said today that General Motors and the American auto industry will require "very substantial restructuring," and that the Obama administration is prepared to help make that process work.

"We're prepared to explore all options to make that possible, but our test is, what's going to work? What's going to allow them to emerge from this strong enough so they can survive without assistance from the government on an ongoing basis?" Geithner said on CBS News' Face The Nation.

One option he did not rule out is a controlled bankruptcy for GM.

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On his seventieth day in office, President Obama laid out a plan for General Motors and Chrysler that gave both companies a limited about of time to restructure if they hope to secure further federal funding.

"I am announcing that my administration will offer GM and Chrysler a limited period of time to work with creditors, unions, and other stakeholders to fundamentally restructure in a way that would justify an investment of additional tax dollars; a period during which they must produce plans that would give the American people confidence in their long-term prospects for success," he said.

The president also signed a wilderness protection bill setting aside more than 2 million acres "to protect, preserve and pass down our nation's most treasured landscapes to future generations."

Check out Chip Reid's CBS Evening News report on the president's day below.

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