As some here may've noticed, there are those who questioned the apparent double standard between the WH's treatment of Wall Street and its treatment of Detroit. I wasn't holding my breath waiting for anyone in the MSM to address this point. KO, once again, came through tonight on that score.
He has openly raised the question of this double standard at the end of his opening segment, and he then raised it in detail in the 2d segment. I had not previously seen the Robt. Gibbs segment, but KO ran it. I like Gibbs, but he looked foolish when he tried to distinguish between the sacking of Wagoner and the continued retention of failed bank CEO's.
The basic question raised here today--the sanctity of Wall Street contracts and the contrasting flexibility of union contracts--was expressly raised on "Countdown." An equally interesting point was raised in the interview w/ Dan Gross of Newsweek. While CDS's are still apparently, expected to be largely honored, auto bondholders are expected to take serious haircuts.
Gross raised the express point that there is more of a cultural and a financial affinity between the WH and the Street than there is between the WH and Detroit. It's not just that, as Gross put it, there's a lot more campaign $ raised in the Hamptons than there is in Dearborn. It's that the people on the Street attended similar schools and came from similar backgrounds.
I have no idea whether this segment will have any reach beyond the usual suspects who read DKos and watch "Countdown" religiously. Maybe Rachel will pick up the story, but I'm not holding my breath waiting for Tweety to do so. I will be pleasantly shocked if the issue ever makes it to CNN and to over the air coverage.
One point that seems to continually get lost in this story is that the effects of a GM bankruptcy would not be merely regional in impact. My state of FL, for example, has the 2d highest # of autoworker retirees. If those retirees see their benefits slashed, it won't just be the MI economy that suffers as a result.
Regardless of what comes of the segment, at least KO tried. He raised the issue of Cheney undermining the incoming Obama WH on Middle East policy in segment 1, and he raised the inconsistency issue in segment 2. That's quite a night's work.