Vail Beach, on Jennifer Rubin:

Three successful corporate executives, advised by perhaps 40 or 50 of the sharpest PR minds in the business and another 100 lobbyists whose entire expertise is in anticipating members of congress’ reactions – and none of them saw anything wrong with the use of a private jet?

I don’t believe it.

I think these executives are only going through the motions. They know as well as anyone else what a terrible waste of money and time the bailout would be. Rick Wagoner couldn’t even promise congress yesterday that the infusion of funds via a 10-year loan would allow GM to survive through March. Not exactly putting your best foot forward to the lending officer. “Hi, can you lend me $25 billion? And, in five months, do you mind getting in line behind all my other creditors to get it paid back by a bankruptcy judge?”

No. The CEOs have to play this out for the sake of homestate politicians and media, and the UAW, but they don’t really want the bailout. They want bankruptcy. It is, literally, their only hope. That’s the hidden message of the private plane fiasco