The TARP and the auto industry bailout proposal are separate animals, and it's folly to associate the one with the other as so many tend to do.
Yes, to date, TARP has been an abysmal failure. As much as it freezes Satan's scrote, star has articulated this failure accurately...I have acquaintances working for Citi and Wells Fargo, and their internal messaging has centered around holding onto as much of their bailout money as possible, using it to purchase failed local and regional banking interests instead of extending credit to ease the market pressure.
My problem is the auto industry bailout proponents seem to believe that Congress' stupidity in hastily enacting shite legislation for one sector would somehow justify repeating that stupidity for another. Or that because the amount in question is only ~2% of the TARP bailout, it shouldn't rate this scrutiny.
While we're at it, how about I lobby Congress for a personal loan of only $100 million? It would only cost every taxpayer about fifty cents, they'd never feel it...and it's only 0.01% of the TARP program cost! And I guarantee with that financial backing, I can pay it back with interest inside of ten years.
These fuckers need to declare bankruptcy and restructure their operations under the oversight of a federal court. Our government does NOT exist to protect the bottom lines of corporations and their business models from competition and evolution, despite what GM, Ford, MPAA, and the RIAA believe...it exists to serve the people of this nation.