• HOORAY! Says the CEO of the now-bankrupt General Motors: “The GM you knew, the GM that let so many of you down, is history.” Stocks are just cold going nuts, Dow up 215+ at the moment. [Marketwatch]

Wow it’s morning so that means Barack Obama is giving televised remarks about the latest failed giant business he’s buying us for Ramadan. General Motors! “The collapse of these companies would’ve been devastating to America,” etc., yes we know, “and it would be good for American workers and American manufacturing and good for America’s economy” if, heh heh, GM didn’t have to pay all its debts. Let’s live-blog this by liveblogging, now! MORE »

Ever get the feeling that your country has become one of those places where this kind of thing is always making it to the nightly news in rich countries? [Political IQ]

Turns out there are some occasional consequences to keeping your failed industry afloat on a sea of free money from the government. General Motors’ CEO Richard Wagoner found out about that, today, when he was fired — excuse us, “resigned.” Barack Obama went on some teevee talky show this morning to complain about Detroit and the auto bailout, and by tonight Wagoner was out, the end. [Washington Post]

America, meet your new presidential limousine, this scary-ass legoland 100-foot-long bumper boat. It is a General Motors Cadillac! MORE »

* The president and lawmakers scramble to gain political advantage as oil companies report record profits; fuel-economy standards may be raised. [WP, NYT, W$J]
* Fitzgerald will decide within weeks whether to charge Rove with perjury. [NYT]
* FEMA faces storm of criticism but no solution stands out; Bush lends a hand in New Orleans: “There’s lots of progress. There’s still a lot to be done.” [WP, WP, NYT, W$J]
* House narrowly passes lobbying reform bill; last-minute deal targets earmarks. [WP, NYT, USAT, W$J]
* Bush approves Dubai ownership of nine domestic military plants. [NYT]

MORE »

• Reliable Sources: Jack Abramoff is stuck with ill-fitting suits, to this dismay of his tailer. . . Scott McClellan on Texas gubernatorial race: “I consider one candidate mother. [The president] considers both candidates that you’re referring to [as] friends.”. . . Tom Friedman offends General Motors. [WP]
• Inside the Beltway: Patrick Buchanan wins PETA award for “Strongest Backbone.” [WT]
• Rush & Molloy: Gennifer Flowers loses attempt to revive a defamation suit against Sen. Hillary Clinton. . . Sheryl Crow says the Bushes want to control oil-producing countries: “Now, if we pull out [of Iraq] we are going to leave a complete and total mess. We don’t even know who we’re fighting over there.” [NYDN]
• CIndy Adams: Al Gore no longer has a Secret Service escort. [NYP]