Obama's Driving Issue

President Barack Obama's biggest issue isn't untangling government from private businesses like Citigroup or, more pertinently, General Motors. No, his biggest problem, and the country's as a whole, is his having to use both arms to swat aside gadflies bent on scoring political points at the expense of the greater good.

The governors of four states that depend heavily on Toyota for jobs are accusing the Administration of having a "conflict of interest" in its efforts to protect U.S. consumers from callous treatment at the hands of the Japanese auto maker.

Never mind that the

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had to compel Toyota to halt the sale of 8 models on Jan. 26 as the automaker sought a fix for reports of sticky pedals. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said last week that "every step of the way" NHTSA had to prod Toyota into acting.

But hey, maybe LaHood is a liar too. It seems everyone is fair game. The trouble is the facile response that if government owns share in a company, it will clearly act to defend that company's interests and do anything to thwart its competitors. It's a logical fallacy that ignores a very important principle: government, not being a private enterprise, doesn't need to maximize profits or shareholder value. (In fact, that's the usual criticism of government-owned enterprises.)

In fact, not only is government not obligated to earn profits at any cost, the whole point of government ownership of any agency or enterprise is to maximize the public good.

But what about the heart of the fake issue: does the U.S. government have even the mechanism in place to have a conflict of interest here? Can anyone even point to a person or structure by which the federal government can manage GM? Given GM's stated objective of getting out from under the government's protective umbrella by the end of this year, is there even a long-term reason for the Administration to busy itself running a company it isn't even going to own for very long?

No one seems to want to take Obama at his word when he said that

GM will be run by a private board of directors and management team with a track record in American manufacturing that reflects a commitment to innovation and quality. They -- and not the government -- will call the shots and make the decisions about how to turn this company around.

But no one can find a shred of proof of the contrary -- not even noted crank opponents, like Stephen Bainbridge, whose 'cases in point' are nothing more than warning that Obama might be unable to "resist political pressures from key allies" like House Democrats and unions.

Truth is, unions and Congress don't want to cripple an employer like Toyota -- and neither does a President who seems intent on retaining his Congressional majorities come November.

Bottom line, Toyota and Toyota alone is to blame for its current predicament, and the Department of Transportation and federal regulatory agencies would have been remiss in laying off the company (even if it means taking political hits).

It's a shame we all have to waste energy discussing a blatantly political issue when there are much bigger problems to address.