Roberto Schmidt, AFP / Newscom
Last night President Obama said he was confident Chrysler could quickly emerge from bankruptcy as a legitimate competitor in the market. And now the automaker will have a chance to test it: The White House says Chrysler will declare "short" bankruptcy today. A senior official from Obama's administration told Politico, "Ultimately, this is much better for Chrysler and for the people of Detroit. This will hopefully get them on a better footing than tey've been in a long time." The bankruptcy will save Chrysler from liquidation and is said to have the "full support" of major stakeholders, creditors, and the auto workers' union. The official backhandedly admonished Chrysler's creditors' flake out: "Their failure to act in either their own economic interest or the national interest does not diminish the accomplishments made by Chrysler, Fiat and its stakeholders."