The New York Times introduces 31-year-old Brian Deese, a near graduate of Yale Law School, as President Obama’s pick to re-shape General Motors—and American capitalism along the way. As a special assistant to the president for economic policy, he was pretty much the only full-time member of the Presidential Task Force on Automobiles from November 4 through mid-February. He comes to the job with no automotive experience, or business experience, or much experience at all, if you put his resume up against the insanely vast and critical task before him. Making him perfect for the job. Maybe a real outsider is just what the General needs. Deese seems to have earned the president’s ear with competence. By all reports, he sees the challenges of GM’s tumble holistically, in terms of the effect on the economy in general, Medicaid and unemployment insurances in the specific, and understands the political ramifications of every thing he eats, reads or wears from here on out. No one older than 31 would want this job. And you’d be hard pressed to find anyone younger. So he’s perfect.
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Just what we need – another Ivy League-trained lawyer with no business experience. Come to think of it, if it’s good enough for America, surely it’s good enough for GM. Right?
Maybe he’s the only guy Obama could find that didn’t use TurboTax.
This is yet another pick that defies common sense…
Holistic, law school… Why not an economist or a business professor?
You’re not reading closely enough. He isn’t a lawyer, because he never even finished law school, much less passed a state bar.
To keep score – he’s not an economist, is not an expert on bankruptcy, hasn’t bothered to finish his law degree, doesn’t have an mba, and has no background in the auto industry. This is positively stunning.
He may or may not be the right person for the job, but does anyone else get the whiff of “fall guy” from this?
“He comes to the job with no automotive experience, or business experience, or much experience at all”
Makes sense, nether does President Obama.
I’m 31 and I’d take the job.
But I fail in the political part…
Mr. Deese was not the only one favoring the Fiat deal, but his lengthy memorandum on how liquidation would increase Medicaid costs, unemployment insurance and municipal bankruptcies ended the debate.
I’d really like to see the numbers behind this.
It’s the same reasoning the governor of New Jersey, Jon Corzine, has with not reducing the size of the state government work force.
Obviously, this school of thought doesn’t emerge organically. A bunch of people have read it or heard it, and truly believe it. So who said it, first?
OMG another brilliant guy with no knowledge of our business.
What exactly does a near graduate of Yale Law School mean? That he was physically near a graduation ceremony once?
What is the difference between “a near graduate” and “a dropout”?
These are the kind of decisions/news stories that will drive the Onion out of buisness!
Maybe he’ll almost save GM like he almost finished law school.
(But who am I to criticize — Vice President Joe Biden is my law school’s most famous alum.)
I don’t know whether to laugh or to cry. Maybe I’ll do both.
Very smart dresser. I can see here that this guy is another one of BO’s regulars. It looks as if he gets his tutoring from another top gun in BO’s pasture perhaps William “Bill” Ayers?
Marchionne knew nothing about cars before he was tapped to take over Fiat, now he’s trying to take over the automotive world. Could Rick Wagoner have done that? Quoth Sergio: “If you’re going to fix a broken car company, call in an amateur.”
And the Board of Bystanders were pissed that Wagoner got fired by PTFOA, not by them. “If I had to do it over again, I would try to save GM the same way,” said one board member. WTF!
31 year old auto neophyte with an astute head on his shoulders? Bring it!
Can’t imagine he’ll do any worse than the meatheads who over the last few decades mismanaged GM into BK.
Besides, as the NYT makes clear, he’s not so much making decisions as deciding which options are on the table and which ones are not. And as a WH staffer, his focus is probably the politics/public policy dimension of the bailout and now BK.
I rather doubt he’ll be anywhere near actual operating decisions.
lol I dropped out of college, but now I can say I’m a near graduate! Thanks Obama!!!
And yes, this guy has FAIL written all over him. He should change his name to Lee Majors, cause he’s a fall guy for sure.
My personal suspicion is that this guy is the only one in the Obama administration who has ever driven a car.
Do you like nuts?
How about Deese nuts?
Well, at this point, a novice may be the best thing for them. The real question is does this guy own a car and drive it to work everyday. If so, then he may be more qualified than the morons who screwed it up already. While a car guy might be great, you might end up with a whole lot of g8/gto type vehicles no one will buy. We’ve seen what a good bean counter can do with GM. As an episode of “King of the Hill” once highlighted; if you want to make money, follow the average american consumer and see what they buy. An American Toyota or Hyundai is likely far from the worst thing the company could become. Maybe GM could be the company to make a reasonably priced (under 20K) 2+2 coupe with a decent engine and good handling. Maybe not.
He may just be laying out the policy options, and he may be a very smart fellow. I’m certainly not going to run down a fellow “near graduate”.
All the same, it’s sad to see policy decisions made based on how the changes will affect Medicare. This is why the government should not be taking over any business. A new Chrysler selling crap is still going to fail. Taking a bigger hit to Medicare now is worth forcing Chrysler to be competitive or letting it die on its own.
One thing that comes through clearly in Obama’s leadership style, particular as it relates to TARP and the auto/financial crises, is that he’s obviously never read the Tanakh, particularly the Book of Kings (if you’re in a Motel 6, reach for the Gideon’s and check out 1st Kings 12 and Rehoboam’s choice of young, inexperienced advisers and his tax policy).
Hmm. I’d find a way to milk this. “Hello, GM, It’s the White House. No, not him, he’s down the hall. I’d like to check out the z-06 to see if your company deserves to live. Yes, just air freight one. You know the address”.
Another liberal brat in over it’s head yet is not adult enough to know it.
It really blows my mind that there are comments defending Deese’s choice for this role. Reminds me of the folks that defended Bush picking his cleaning lady for the Supreme Court.
Well, at this point, a novice may be the best thing for them.
Can’t imagine he’ll do any worse than the meatheads who over the last few decades mismanaged GM into BK.
You folks are smokin’ some serious stuff. I guess turnaround and/or business experience of any kind is just optional, huh?
He is not a lawyer, yet. If he finishes law school and passes the Bar Exam and the Character and Fitness committee, he may then take the oath and be a lawyer, albeit, one with no experience. I figure it takes 8 years to turn a law school grad into a real lawyer.
We are in so much trouble.
As long as he isn’t a skull & bones boy, we should be good.
We’re finished. Finished.
Relax, folks, it’s turnaround specialist Al Koch who’s in charge of running the old, bankrupt GM.
http://postcards.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2009/06/01/the-new-boss-at-old-gm/
And someone else with CEO/turnaround experience will be in charge of the new Government Motors.
“…the new Government Motors.” Maybe that should be DM, Democrat Motors.
Was this the person at the Wednesday Opel meeting which went off so well ?
As someone who worked for two separate suppliers to GM as an Account Manager and a Program Manager, I can say quite seriously that I would be a better choice for this job.
What is the difference between “a near graduate” and “a dropout”?
“A near graduate” works in the Obama Administration; a “dropout” works in the Bush Administration.
It seems those bitching here didn’t read the article. If you’re going to that lazy, at least look at CashMoney‘s short comment for an accurate synopsis.