Hotline After Dark -- Let's Make A Deal

The auto industry bailout continued to be the hot topic on TV. ABC's McFadden spoke with Pres. Bush about the issue yesterday.

Bush, asked if an auto bailout is close to a resolution: "It's hard to tell because there are some pretty strict standards. One is that anything that's done would as best as possible guarantee the taxpayers get their money back. In other words, there needs to be viability. Of course, the definition of viability is open to discussion. I believe that viability means that all aspects of the companies need to be re-examined to make sure that they can survive in the long term. Hopefully we'll get something done."

Bush, asked if one of the conditions should be that the people at the top have to step down: "I think that viability is a broad term. It includes an analysis of business plans, dealerships, product lines, and labor contracts as well as the internal dealings of the company."

After the jump, more auto bailout, Caroline Kennedy speculation and an old McCain ad resurfaces.

(KATHERINE LEHR)

McFadden: "So it's on the table?"

Bush: "I think all aspects of the deal are on the table. I don't want to take one single aspect. The danger with trying to pick out one thing and say this has to happen, is that these companies need a comprehensive review of everything they're doing and all aspects of the business need to be on the table in order to make sure we don't put good money after bad, which would be unhelpful" ("Nightline," 12/8).

Among the other responses to the bailout legislation:

MI Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D), on the WH suggesting they don't like the legislation: "Well, I'm assuming that it's just a snag. I think everyone agrees that it is critical that this industry survive. ... There is always back and forces on legislation. ... So I'm expecting that that will continue. ... But the good news is that there seems to be a narrowing of issues, and some clear, defined terms. ... I think that there are some aspects of this bill that everyone agrees on" ("1600," MSNBC, 12/8).

UAW pres. Ron Gettelfinger, on whether the union has any problems with the bailout proposal: "We do not have any problems with the draft proposal. We're just hopeful that we can get this emergency bridge loan passed into law this week. ... There's been a lot of work and we recognize that Congress and the White House are both under a lot of pressure here. We know that they want to do what's right. And so we're just hopeful that it can get before the Congress and then get passed and then we can move forward" ("LKL," CNN, 12/8).

NPR's Liasson: "The biggest thing that happened was that Nancy Pelosi moved. Originally, remember, she didn't want to take money out of the energy bill. ... The White House insisted that money out of-the big pot of bailout money not be used for the auto companies, and it's not" ("Special Report," FNC, 12/8).

Washington Post's Robinson, asked why some GOPers are threatening to filibuster: "It has to do with whose needing the bailout. And when it was Wall Street that needed the bailout, it seemed to be a circumstance that the Republicans felt more urgency about than a bunch of assembly line workers and the like in Detroit. ... I don't think you can divorce the specific circumstances from the reaction that we're seeing" ("Countdown," MSNBC, 12/8).

STRANGER THAN FICTION

There continued to be a lot of buzz about the possibility of Caroline Kennedy replacing Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY). Oh, and actress Fran Drescher also wants the job.

Politico's Simon: "If she wants it, she has certainly got it. ... There is a great deal of affection out there for Caroline Kennedy. I don't see that she has any political enemies. ... There are two strange things about the Kennedy women. One, they never get in trouble. And two, they never get elected to higher office. Those two should go hand in hand" ("Hardball," MSNBC, 12/8).

Washington Post's Milbank: "Kennedy is being coy about exactly what she wants. Not so Fran Drescher, the pride of queens. She has thrown her hat in the ring. The obvious risk here is that she might become something of a caretaker senator given her role in the 1990s sitcom 'The Nanny.' But on the positive side if she does get the seat ... we can hope for her sequel, perhaps, to her popular book 'Cancer Schmancer.' I think this one would be called 'Senate Schmenate'" ("No Bias, No Bull," CNN, 12/8).

Bloomberg's Carlson: "It will be a long distance to go from the Camelot to the Dirksen Senate Office Building. I mean, she's at the top of society and politics in a certain way. ... She has everything she wants. ... I'm told it is because President-elect Obama really inspired her. It was an act of the heart" ("Hardball," MSNBC, 12/8).

COULDA, WOULDA, SHOULDA?

And FNC concentrated on a John McCain ad that was never run. ABC obtained a copy of the spot, which criticized Obama for his relationship with Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

Washington Times' Blankley: "I think he owed a duty to his party to run the strongest campaign he could have run. It was a very legitimate issue. ... Repeating messages in the cycle are very important. When the issue did come up in the primary, it was the only time that Obama was thrown back on his heels. If the issue had been raised vigorously in the general election -- keep in mind, McCain lost conservative votes. One out of ten conservatives voted for Obama. He didn't do as well as Bush with Republican voters. So he failed to get his vote out. And some of them ... would have come out and voted" ("Hannity & Colmes," FNC, 12/8).

Karl Rove: "They should have [run the ad] if they wanted in March or April at the latest to make an issue, a narrative, a story line, if you will, of Barack Obama's lack of judgment. That was the time to have contemplated an ad like this and to have backed it up with what's more important than just an ad, which is the willingness of a candidate and his campaign to consistently day in and day out talk about the narrative. ... This ad is important not as a closer, but as an opener."

Rove, asked if he admires McCain for not running it: "I admire McCain if this was a conscious decision for saying this is out of bounds. I'm not certain I would have agreed with that though if I were him. I mean, it is and I said it time and time again during the spring a man's 20 year associations are fair considerations in a campaign. And this association with Reverend Wright was troubling to a great many Americans" ("O'Reilly Factor," FNC, 12/8).