This interview was conducted in the Oval Office by Face The Nation host Bob Schieffer.
Clinton Says New Afghanistan-Pakistan Plan Depends on Diplomacy
ABC News' Kirit Radia reports: ABC News has obtained an internal message from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) personnel worldwide, in which she said diplomacy will be the key to...
Obama: Automakers 'not there yet'
See the full Face the Nation interview with President Obama above.
by Mark Silva
It probably will take another federal jump-start for General Motors and Chrysler to get back on the road, the Obama White House is inclined to say this week, but the president is warning the ailing automakers that radical new designs still are required.
"They're not there yet," Obama said of the automakers, in an interview taped Friday and aired this morning on CBS News Face the Nation.
"We think we can have a successful U.S. auto industry,'' the president said. "But it's got to be one that's realistically designed to weather this storm and to emerge -- at the other end -- much more lean, mean, and competitive than it currently is.''
GM and Chrysler already are riding on $17.4 billion in government loans, and probably will need more help to survive the worst downturn in the auto industry in three decades. GM is seeking $16.6 billion more, Chrysler $5 billion more.
The president's task force on the industry is expected to recommend Monday that more short-term aid is warrantedin return for major concessions to make the companies viable and avert bankruptcy. The announcement that Obama makes Monday is expected to include more money in exchange for concessions from union workers, bondholders and others.
The president said he will demand a "set of sacrifices from all parties involved, management, labor, shareholders, creditors, suppliers, dealers. Everybody's gonna have to come to the table and say it's important for us to take serious restructuring steps now in order to preserve a brighter future down the road."
GM and Chrysler face a Tuesday deadline to submit completed restructuring plans, but neither company was expected to finish their work. The administration hopes to accelerate that work with the aid that it announces on Monday.
Last month, GM said it intended to cut 47,000 jobs around the world, nearly 20 percent of its workforce, close hundreds of dealerships and focus on four core brands -- Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC and Buicksending Saturn the way of Ford's Edsel.
Chrysler presented two scenarios in its February plan: One as its own company, the second in alliance with Italian automaker Fiat, whose executives have spoken with the administration's task force about a proposal to take a 35 percent stake in Chrysler in exchange for small car technology, transmissions and other items that Chrysler has.
Chrysler said last month that it would cut 3,000 workers and eliminate three vehicle models: the Dodge Aspen, Dodge Durango and Chrysler PT Cruiser.
Wire services contributed.
Ahead Of G20, Europe Rebuffs Stimulus Spending
The Obama administration has been calling for European countries to step up stimulus spending as a way of dealing with the global economic crisis. But as world leaders prepare for the G20 summit in London, many Europeans are rejecting that strategy. They say the social safety net they offer their citizens helps maintain spending, and what the world needs is tighter regulation of financial markets.
GM and Chrysler's plans are not viable. They never will be to the UAW decides to play ball. Bluegrass Pundit
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