Yes
"It's a tentative yes at this point. I just wish he'd forced the banks to do the same thing. They are just as insolvent as GM and everyone knows it." Sean-Paul Kelley, The Agonist
"Ideology be damned, will it work? That's all Americans care about. And the alternative was..." Greg Dworkin, Daily Kos
"Bankruptcy is a scary word, but if managed correctly it is an orderly process. I have been saying for months that a managed bankruptcy might be the best solution for GM." David Kravitz, Blue Mass. Group
"Preventing liquidation and job losses that will affect communities and the economy makes it worth a try. We do need to rethink our policy of shipping manufacturing jobs overseas, and with GM's bankruptcy, I fear Obama is committing us to more of the same. Obama needs to commit to protecting skilled industrial workers and their industries through modernization so we can continue to compete internationally. We need a manufacturing base in this country -- to think otherwise is short-sighted." Tracy Viselli, Reno And Its Discontents
"I assume the question is actually about whether the U.S. should bail out GM. Bankruptcy was inevitable, whether it was a liquidation of GM (if no government intervention) or an attempt to save it (with government help). Given the state of the economy, this was a no-brainer." Big Tent Democrat, TalkLeft
"I don't see that he had a choice. I just wish he'd done the same thing with AIG." Barbara O'Brien, The Mahablog
"I only wish he'd taken this 'tough love' approach with the banking industry!" Susie Madrak, Suburban Guerrilla
"What was the alternative?" Mark Kleiman, The Reality-Based Community
Yes
"Finally." Martin Solomon, Solomonia
"Bankruptcy seems preferable to perpetual bailouts of a zombie auto company. That distinction would be erased, though, if the bankruptcy process becomes a political power grab." Jon Henke, The Next Right
"Even better would have been bankruptcy according to established legal rules, rather than the Peron-style expropriation of money from the senior bondholders for the benefit of the UAW." David Kopel, The Volokh Conspiracy
"My only complaint is that it took so long for GM to get there. GM is a business, and should have gone into bankruptcy immediately, without first sucking vast sums out of the taxpayers and transferring its wealth to the unions." Bookworm, Bookworm Room
"It should have gone bankrupt years, nay, decades ago." Michael van der Galien, PoliGazette
No
"While I agree with the bankruptcy option, I think the government should have stayed out and let the normal procedure drive the process. What's the difference between nationalizing a business in Venezuela versus doing it in America?" Doug Lambert, GraniteGrok
"It should have made the walk on its own." Walter Olson, Overlawyered
"The government should not be involved." D.S. Hube, The Colossus Of Rhodey
"General Motors could have gone to bankruptcy court on their own. Of course, that would have meant a serious reduction in the UAW's labor contracts, and Obama just couldn't let his political supporters suffer like that. So we have extra-special, government-guided bankruptcy instead. Which is just like normal bankruptcy, except manipulated to benefit the president and his cronies." Rob Port, Say Anything
"I'm against the federal government taking over any privately owned businesses. GM should have been allowed to fail, to take bankruptcy before the government bailouts, which did nothing but delay the inevitable." Debbie Hamilton, Right Truth
"I wish he would make up his mind. First President Obama said GM was too big to fail, so pour billions of dollars to prop it up, and now he has allowed them to go bankrupt, thus pissing all our money away. Oh well, I guess as long as the union boss didn't lose any weight over it, all is well." Bob Parks, Black And Right
Major benefit: 62.5%
Minor benefit: 31.3%
Minor harm: 6.3%
Major harm: 0%
Major benefit: 8.3%
Minor benefit: 25.0%
Minor harm: 58.3%
Major harm: 8.3%