George W. Bush = Modern-Day Nero

It looks like President George W. Bush is determined to add Detroit to New Orleans, as this modern-day Nero fiddles while a second American city drowns. Bush says he is concerned that the automakers will not survive, but he is totally unwilling to take any action. It's clear that General Motors will be forced into bankruptcy by the end of the month and that Chrysler will fail no later than late January. Those collapses will then eat away at Ford's supply base and ultimately destroy whatever is left of the auto industry in the upper Midwest. Dealerships will close, tool-and-dye shops will close, subcontractors of all kinds will either slash their workforces or go straight out of business. All automakers will then be disrupted. The United Auto Workers will basically cease to exist.

That's the kind of legacy Bush is going to leave to the country and to the Republican Party. Sens. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., and Barney Frank, D-Mass., cannot save the world in three days. If nothing else, GM needs money to cover this month's expenses so a new Congress can tackle this problem.