So, it appears that we will now bail out the automobile industry . . . with the proviso that a “car czar” will be able to force members of the Big 3 into bankruptcy if they show that they cannot survive without government aid.

As if this hasn’t been shown already. If ever there was justification for a mercy killing, it would be now. But instead of pulling the plug, we will waste tens of billions of dollars before we finally see the light and realize that the Big 3, as currently constituted, are beyond saving.

(The paragraph immediately above presumes some demonstration of competence on the part of government in its newfound efforts to do whatever it must to make sure you drive out of the lot with a Big 3-manufactured car today. Doubtless, this presumption will eventually be found to have been ludicrous in the extreme.)