In response to Mr. Crawford’s column concerning the proposed bailout of the auto industry I have to ask what fantasy world Mr. Crawford is living in?

He blames President Bush and Hank Paulson for ignoring the pleas of the auto execs, yet the facts are quite different.

When I watched the news on TV, I didn’t see the heads of the “Big Three” in a meeting with the president. They were sitting before a committee of Congressmen made up of Democrats and Republicans alike and Paulson and Bush weren’t even in the room!

Democratic committee chairman Sen. Christopher Dodd was quoted as saying, “You’re asking an awful lot, and I suspect … this $25 (billion) is not the end of it. I would like to tell you that this is going to happen in the next couple of days. I don’t think it is.”

Dodd was also quoted as saying that the automakers had been “famously devoid of vision,” adding that the executives deserved no more sympathy than the bankers responsible for spawning the crisis in subprime home mortgages, which began during the Clinton administration.

Democratic Sen. Charles Shumer, while being a supporter of the proposal, was critical of their plan. He said, “We need them to reassure us that they won’t come back again in six months in the same sinking boat asking us for $50 billion to fix more holes.”

Even Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has been critical of the automakers lack of a plan.

Sounds to me like the Democrats are the ones who are not too keen on the idea of the auto bailout. Trying to blame this one on Bush and the Republicans is pure fantasy, which seems to be the only thing that Mr. Crawford is capable of comprehending.

Jim Hannon

Ironton