44, Day 69: A Next Step for Automakers

An ongoing log of the daily activities of the 44th president of the United States during his first 100 days:

-Setting the stage for the announcement of his administration's plan to rescue the nation's automakers, President Obama said on the CBS program Face the Nation that American automakers were "not there yet" in their restructuring effort. He added that he was seeking "a set of sacrifices" from the industry so that it can become "much more lean, mean and competitive." One sacrifice that he apparently had in mind became evident a few hours later, when word began to spread that General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner would resign at the administration's request.

-In return, the White House later reportedly told Michigan's congressional delegation that the federal government would provide GM with interim "working capital" as it restructures. It also will make short-term aid available to Chrysler as it tries to nail down a partnership with Fiat of Italy. The president said that GM's chief operating officer, Fritz Henderson, would succeed Wagoner at least temporarily.

-The president's chief architect of economic recovery, meanwhile, said that while much had been done to stem the recession's precipitous decline, much more needs to be done. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, speaking on the ABC program This Week, said: "We're facing, still, a lot of challenges. You can't judge a plan on the reaction one day, one week. But we've done a lot in these eight weeks."

by Mark Stein

Sources: CBS, The New York Times, The Detroit News, Politico, and ABC.