Did Politics Play a Role in Deciding Which Chrysler Dealerships Were Closed???

The question asked by the title of this post has been raised by various websites/blogs. Some have researched the past political contributions of the owners of the Chrysler dealerships targeted for closure and noticed the great majority contributed to Republican candidates. Today, we see a newspaper column in the San Francisco Examiner titled: "Is Obama closing GOP car dealers?" that addresses these concerns. This opening paragraph shows why even the appearance of politics playing a role in this is troubling:

There appears to be a side to the Chrysler bankruptcy that has the look of an ugly partisanship not seen in this town since Tricky Dick was in the White House composing his enemies list and checking it twice every night while watching the evening TV newscast.

Whether President Obama or his Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel are personally reviewing lists of past contributions and then deciding which dealerships get the axe doesn't even matter. When the government gets so involved in the private sector that they are deciding winners and losers it is inevitable that their motives will be questioned. Obama's reputation for vindictiveness and Emanuel's penchant for bare knuckles politics help fuel these concerns. However, they could have the demeanor of TV's Mr. Rogers and it would still be an awful idea for government officials to be deciding winners and losers in business.

Now that this question has been raised in one paper it will be interesting to see if the story gets fully researched by the major outlets. Somehow I doubt it will lead the ABC, CBS, or NBC evening news anytime soon.