Obama Buying American

Tick one more republican whine item off their admittedly short list. The "investigative reporting" by bloggers and main-streamers about the lists of foreign vehicles driven by those in government will probably have to stop. Probably. I'm sure some cynics out there will just have to resort to gripping over the fact that these are fuel-efficient cars instead of Hummers.

Well, you can't please everyone. But you can sure try.

From the Washington Post:

President Obama yesterday announced plans to buy 17,600 American-made, fuel-efficient cars and hybrids for the government fleet, the White House's latest gambit to steer aid to the nation's beleaguered automakers.

The move came in a week when the administration accelerated efforts to revive an industry suffering it lowest sales in decades. Earlier this week Obama dispatched a team of 15 finance experts to Detroit to work with General Motors and Chrysler on restructuring efforts. On Wednesday, the Treasury Department began to release $5 billion in aid to parts suppliers. And yesterday Ed Montgomery, the president's new adviser on auto communities and workers, visited Ohio to discuss what assistance might be needed there.

By June 1, the government plans to spend $285 million in stimulus funds to buy fuel-efficient vehicles from General Motors, Ford and Chrysler. The purchase is slated to include 2,500 hybrid sedans, the largest one-time purchase of hybrid vehicles to date for the federal fleet.