Steven Rattner, the head of Team Auto for President Obama, explains how the restructuring of GMC & Chrysler happened.

My initial take: Rattner maintains an aloof, self-absorbed tone throughout the narrative. He gives some lip service to allowing the auto companies to enter bankruptcy, but seems to ignore it as soon as it occurs to him. Too, he spends time analyzing political concerns he seems unqualified to talk about, in addition to voicing business concerns regarding restructuring,  and takes too little time explaining what went on in the meetings he had with President Obama. He spends a lot of time expressing shock at the wretched business structure of Chrysler and GMC (no surprise there), and seems intent on clarifying that a government takeover of the auto industry is not REALLY a takeover.

Overall, this piece is not as interesting as I had hoped. Rattner clearly is concerned about ramifications and details of how to restructure GMC and Chrysler, and spends an appropriate amount of time explaining who he chose to assist him and why- no criticism there. It would have been nice, however, to see more of the gritty, “down-in-the-dirt” debates had within Team Auto, and less of the aloof, “I know better than they do” attitude towards the auto executives, average Americans and automaker shareholders. Lastly, more detail on why Rattner left employment by the government would have been very elucidating.

This is a long narrative, but worth the read- if for no other reason than there are tens of billions of our tax money at risk with GMC and Chrysler.