Coming Up: Bush’s Statement on Auto-Rescue Plan

Henry J. Pulizzi reports on the White House. President George W. Bush will make an announcement at 9 a.m. ET regarding the “administration’s efforts to assist the auto industry,” according to an administration official. On Thursday, the White House gave repeated assurances that it won’t let General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC suffer a “disorderly” collapse, but shed little light on its plans for the rapidly deteriorating U.S. auto industry. Bush said he would take action to avoid the “shock to the system” that a messy bankruptcy could trigger. “A disorderly bankruptcy could be very destabilizing for what is now a fragile financial market,” Bush said in an interview with CSPAN. His spokeswoman Dana Perino , meanwhile, said a managed bankruptcy is among the options under consideration. GM and Chrysler have said they will run out of cash before the end of the year without a lifeline from the government. Since the Senate’s rejection of a ... (link)