Steve Rattner was a man without any experience in the car industry. According to New York magazine, he worked as a journalist, an investment banker, and then the head of a private equity fund.
His primary qualification for becoming the car czar was that he raised a lot of money for democrats.
This is what New York magazine said of his handling of the task force:
Six months after taking the job, Rattner (who declined to comment for this story) had helped to perform a seeming magic trick, rewriting the understanding between the car companies and the unions while bending the companies’ financiers—his friends and peers—to his will. With what seemed a cool, almost arrogant confidence—his casual dismissal of GM CEO Rick Wagoner reflected this quality—he had played a large role in restructuring the American car industry, accomplishing what few had thought possible a few months earlier, and in record time.
Still not convinced?
This was Politico at the time that it happened:
The White House confirmed Wagoner was leaving at the government's behest after The Associated Press reported his immediate departure, without giving a reason.
The next time that someone challenges that the administration is in charge of the auto industry, ask them what Steve Rattner's job was.
