So let me get this right--it's not so much that the Big 3 car makers went to Washington asking for $25 billion in government assistance this week and were met by a largely resistant Congress.      It's the fact that car industry executives flew to D.C. on their company's private jets that doomed their request.

       Business as usual on Capitol Hill.

       Make no mistake, it made for great cable news theater when a member of one of the congressional committees being asked for the cash asked for a show of hands when he asked how many of them used something OTHER than a company jet to get to Washington.      The cameras dutifully rolled as a table full of suit-wearing automotive execs failed to raise a pink, much less an arm.

       Guilty as charged of flying Air Detroit.

       Like that makes a difference.

        Would Congress have green-lighted the money for the Big 3 had their CEO's piled into the nearest Prius for the ride to Capitol Hill?     Would they have left D.C. with a $25 billion dollar check had they ridden Amtrak?

        Doubtful.

         Instead of wondering about chosen modes of transportation, perhaps they should've listened harder to what people like Senator Russ Feingold are saying about the potential collapse of one of the nation's major industries.     Losing the Big 3 won't just hurt Detroit or the state of Michigan--the ripple effect will be national and Wisconsin won't be exempt.       There's precedent for helping American car makers.      Washington came to Chrysler's rescue, and actually made money on the deal.      And, there's precedent for Congress helping out FOREIGN car makers--it gave them some $3 billion dollars to develop factories in the southern U-S.

        Say what you will about how Detroit ran it's business in recent years--yes, the Big 3 made lots and lots of gas-sucking SUV's but it was only until gas hit $4 a gallon this summer that demand plummeted.      American consumers played a role in Detroit's plight by spurning gas-friendly alternatives and opting for Hummers, the thinking being that gas will always be plentiful and cheap.       Could the Big 3 be expected to convert their assembly lines from SUV production to Prius's in the course of two weeks?      Of course not.     And, is there anyone among us who doubts demand for less gas-efficient transportation will be on the uptick now that oil prices are now hovering around $50 a barrel?          Maybe some of those auto execs should've asked the congressional members how they drove to Capitol Hill for this week's hearings.       I'm guessing their aren't too many representatives and senators driving Dodge Neons.

        One more thing--besides the economic ripple effect from a vanquished Big 3, let's remember what Detroit has done for the U.S. when the military needed rides.        Wesley Clark details that aspect in a New York Times op-ed this week.

         It's heartening to hear that Congress is at least giving the Big 3 another two weeks to refine their pitch.        That gives Detroit 14 more days to speak to the issue of accountability, which Washington is demanding in return for any sort of bail out.        That's a reasonable request--if Uncle Sam's paying, he should have a say in what happens on the assembly line.

         That said, let's hope the tone of the next round of hearings is a little more civil and a lot more productive.       I wonder why the nation's financial sector got a $700 million dollar pick-me-up without having to take a single knee--the big debate then was whether or not Washington should be in the banking business.        Banking CEO"s didn't get nearly the blowback the Big 3 CEO's got this week, even after word got out about all the golden parachutes, over-paid suits, and lavish vacations that were being shelled out as the business swirled around the bowl.

         And, let us not forget that European car makers are also asking overseas governments for financial help, so apparently Detroit isn't the only one that's guilty of some sort of mismanagement.       And, I don't know if anyone is asking European car makers if they took private jets or double-decker buses to their confabs.

        There's a reason for that.      It may make for good t-v, but it doesn't mean squat to the argument.