November 19, 2010 12:44PM # President’s Statement about GM IPO Reveals a Defensive Politician By [Daniel J. Ikenson](https://www.cato.org/people/daniel-j-ikenson) --- SHARE I don’t particularly relish picking on a president who, on virtually every policy front, is showing all the markings of a man in way over his head. But the president’s actions and statements are becoming excruciating to watch—like a highly-touted Olympic figure skater who can’t complete a maneuver without falling to the ice. President Obama’s salutary statement about GM’s IPO yesterday reveals a man so focused on defending his policies that he can no longer conceal the incongruity between his political objectives and the country’s imperatives. > American taxpayers are now positioned to recover more than ***my*** ***administration*** invested in GM, and that’s a good thing. (My emphasis) Besides revealing the president’s preference for LIFO accounting procedures, the statement strikes me as sub-presidential. Shouldn’t the POTUS be concerned about American taxpayers getting back **all** of the money invested in GM? Even though former President Bush is complicit, shouldn’t the sitting president of a country that owes its wealth, freedom, and future to the endurance of the rule of law and the other long-standing, bedrock institutions that were defiled and abused to bail out two automakers issue a statement of regret and reassurance that such extreme measures will never be undertaken again? I think President Obama missed an opportunity to make amends, build a bridge, and reassure businesses and investors that the White House will do its part to reduce the economy-stifling problem of regime uncertainty going forward. But, then again, that might have been too presidential for a politician who appears motivated more by avoiding blame than by advancing the country’s best interests. ##### Related Tags [Government and Politics](https://www.cato.org/government-politics), [Trade Policy](https://www.cato.org/trade-policy), [Herbert A. Stiefel Center for Trade Policy Studies](https://www.cato.org/herbert-stiefel-center-trade-policy-studies) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).