Friday, November 21, 2008

Why Didn't They Just Drive?

I have a new hero, and he is, of all things, a Democratic Congressman from California. If he accomplishes nothing else on the political scene, and retires into obscurity, this one act should be enough to enshrine him in a pantheon of the Inspired. The occasion was a meeting on Wednesday between legislators and officials of the “Big 3” automakers. To quote from the article:

“... Rep. Brad Sherman asked company executives to raise their hands if they'd flown to the nation's capital on commercial airlines. No hands went up. Then [he] asked the heads of General Motors, Ford Motor Co., and Chrysler LLC... whether they were planning to sell their corporate jets and fly home commercial. Again, no hands went up.”

Can anyone imagine a cleaner, more surgically precise means of “outing” corporate parasites than to show them enjoying their perks as usual, while begging for handouts from the taxpayers? The sheer beauty of this scene is positively breathtaking. Oh, I'm sure they won't go home empty-handed, at least not in the long run. The auto industry is not only “too big to fail” (even though it already has), but it's the corporate symbol of America; nothing else even comes close (although Coke, Wal-Mart, McDonald's, and Starbucks certainly deserve honorable mention). But to see, just once, the naked truth on display in the hallowed halls of the Capitol – that is truly a pleasure.

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