The CEOs of GM, Ford and Chrysler have spent the last two days on Capitol Hill. Yesterday they were grilled by a Senate committee, today members of the House took potshots.At one point during today's hearing, Rep. Brad Sherman of California staged a classic, made-for-TV stunt when he asked the CEOs to "raise their hand if they flew here commercial. Let the record show, no hands went up."
"Second," he continued, "I'm going to ask you to raise your hand if you are planning to sell your jet in place now and fly back commercial. Let the record show, no hands went up."
In the current climate, such grandstanding makes for good copy and even better headlines, but let's be clear: What Rep. Sherman did was nothing less than opportunism playing to ignorance.
If you've worked at the top level of a large, high-profile American corporation, you know that the chief executive is a target. The physical safety of those whose names appear on the corporate proxy is paramount, and the intensity of security preparations isn't widely known.
In my professional life, I've had the experience of working elbow-to-elbow with CEOs and company presidents who live every day with the risk that accompanies their positions. I've flown with them aboard corporate aircraft and coordinated with their security details on countless public appearances. I've watched their personal vehicles being swept for incendiaries, and I've hunkered down with them while threats were defused.
Rep. Sherman (or anyone else) insisting that these three CEOs travel via commercial airlines is absurd. As frivolous as a private jet might sound, security trumps PR -- every time.
We don't need some showboating congressman to convince us that we can't trust these companies with our money, do we? There are plenty of other reasons, good and sound reasons, to oppose the bailout of the "big three" automakers -- and I do oppose asking American taxpayers to spend billions just to postpone a mismanaged industry's inevitable collapse.
In the best interest of our children and the future of our nation, we need to prepare for the pain that comes with doing the right thing.
