Byron Dorgan: “It is interesting to me that nobody--or very few--would know the statistics and the new jobs that the Senator from Ohio…”

“It is interesting to me that nobody--or very few--would know the statistics and the new jobs that the Senator from Ohio has described, largely because of the old adage that bad news travels halfway around the world before good news gets its shoes on. Nobody talks about the jobs being created, but the Senator from Ohio talks about the consequences of a country that would have lost its automobile industry. I ask this question: Does anybody here believe we will long remain a world economic power without world-class manufacturing? Isn't that what the Senator is talking about when he talks about the tough decision to try to save this auto industry, when a number of people here said let them go, we don't need them, it is fine if they go under. Does the Senator believe--and I think I know the answer--that we would remain a world economic power if we decided that we didn't need an auto manufacturing capability in America?”