It is not a flashy company, and you almost certainly won’t see it featured in Fortune anytime soon. In fact, you’ve probably never heard of it, but the ‘Big 3” ought to study up: Baldor Electric Company (BEC) paved a business model for companies to follow in bleak economic times. Trouble is ‘loyalty’ isn’t as catchy as ‘bailout’.

At a time when our nation cowers under a 6.5% unemployment rate, and the stock market is as volatile as Bob Knight on the side line of an Indiana college basketball game, millions of Americans are wondering what went wrong, how did it get this bad. Tonight, 1-2 million auto workers are not sleeping because the nightmares of ‘layoffs’ and ‘cuts’ flush slumber and sweet dreams down the proverbial tube and Congressional ‘leaders’ pander to their constituents on a daily basis – hedging against party loyalties, soft money contributions, and lobbyists. In the wake of an American icon failing and going belly-up, top executives plead for billions of your tax dollars in hopes of saving their company, and their defense is not failed management strategy but rather global financial stress.

Here’s The Deal…Teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, in 1929, BEC vowed no layoffs for any of its workers – and none were. Restructuring pay kept each worker employed, and the rising manufacturer weaved its way through the Great Depression and emerged as leading small motor company in the U.S. And, during the early 1980’s as the nation again faced economic downturn, the company invested in employees who could not read by starting a literacy program, and re-writing the instruction manuals.

Capitalism is not void of compassion; it just goes by a different name…loyalty. Those who say we should save GM should compare GM to BEC. In times of trouble and consternation loyalty can be the difference…and for those who believe the unions are to blame remember that for years those same unions tried to get into BEC and were rejected every time. Where’s the loyalty, where’s the accountability for GM?
The American people should not be loyal to a bailout.

Administration aides say President Bush is unhappy that his discussion Monday with President-elect Barack Obama was leaked and cast as a horse trade between signing a second economic stimulus bill in exchange for congressional passage of the Colombia Free Trade deal.

President Bush is unhappy the conversation held Monday between him and President-elect Barack Obama has been cast as a trade-off between Bush signing a second stimulus package in exchange for congressional passage of the Colombia Free Trade Deal,” administration officials told FOX News on Tuesday.

Obama asked Bush to help the sagging auto industry during their private meeting in the White House, senior aides to both men said. Bush stressed the need to work with Colombia, but to make it sound like a horse trade is unfair and inaccurate, an aide told FOX News.

The Bush administration, along with Congress, negotiated a $700 billion rescue package last month for the financial industry, but federal officials are resisting Democratic calls for a similar bailout for automakers, despite warnings that General Motors might not survive the year.

Democrats want a second stimulus that would include aid to Detroit’s big three automakers, unemployment benefits and infrastructure projects.

Bush’s desire to pass the Colombia Free Trade deal on its merits is no secret, a senior White House aide told FOX News. But that deal has been frozen by the Democratic majority in Congress.

The U.S. and Colombia are close allies, and the president wants to increase trade between the two countries. But Democrats say a deal would mean more jobs being exported, which is taboo for a party supported by a heavily unionized workforce that elected Obama.

Democrats say they also object to the human rights climate in Colombia, which union leaders have described as seriously threatening to workers. Colombia’s government says such claims are blown out of proportion and workers are protected.

The New York Times reported Tuesday that Democrats have suggested that neither Obama nor congressional leaders are willing to concede the Colombia pact to Bush and they may choose to wait to hold off on a new stimulus bill until Obama becomes president on Jan. 20.

Bush aides said the president is unhappy the conversation between him and Obama was leaked to the media at all, and insisted the two leaders were not engaged in a quid pro quo between the automakers and a free trade pact.

“President Bush did not suggest a quid pro quo. Both leaders discussed ideas for the economy. The president has long said free trade helps create jobs and opens markets to our businesses. We believe the free trade agreements can and should pass today on their merits,” said press secretary Dana Perino.

Senior aides to both men said the two issues were part of a long discussion about automakers and the ability of the trade deal to help not only the economy but also a key ally. A senior administration official suggested that Obama be careful to keep his counsel.

Deutsche Bank on Monday downgraded GM to sell from hold, with a price target of $0, saying the carmaker may not be able to fund its U.S. operations beyond December without government intervention, FOX Business Network reported.

Deutsche Bank said it believes the U.S. government will be compelled to intervene through a capital infusion or loan.

“Without government assistance, we believe that GM’s collapse would be inevitable, and that it would precipitate systemic risk that would be difficult to overcome for automakers, suppliers, retailers, and sectors of the U.S. economy,” the broker said. Even if GM avoids bankruptcy, equity shareholders are unlikely to get anything back, it added.

FOX News’ Bret Baier contributed to this report.

More at http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/11/11/obama-urges-bush-help-auto-indusstry/

Barack Obama’s election on Tuesday set off international celebrations and ignited a fervor for the United States that has been unseen since the days immediately following the September 11, 2001, terror attacks.

To some observers, the international reaction has elevated America’s president-elect to an unparalleled post: president of the world.

In Kenya, where Obama’s father was born, a national holiday was declared on Thursday. In Indonesia, children danced at the school Obama attended when he was a young boy, embracing him as much for what he represents abroad as for the policies he advocates at home.

Click here to see photos of celebrations around the world.

“People from all over Africa, especially in Kenya, where this is a holiday, are feeling that the most powerful person in the world does not have to be a white guy. That’s a huge breakthrough for the United States and for humanity,” said Walter Russell Mead, the Henry A. Kissinger senior fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations.

“This is the fall of the Berlin Wall times ten,” Rama Yade, France’s junior minister for human rights, told French radio. “On this morning, we all want to be American, so we can take a bite of this dream unfolding before our eyes.”

America’s popularity abroad waned dramatically during the Bush administration, and some voters expressed hopes that in electing Obama, they could restore the country’s image. The wave of good feelings since Tuesday night suggests that even before taking office, Obama has made substantial inroads.

“This may be the beginning of a new world. It marks the end of old elites and opens the door for new approaches worldwide,” an Israeli man in his mid-50s said in Tel Aviv.

Foreign observers, who paid rapt attention during the long election season, are taking a personal stake in the outcome of a vote a world away. Expectations are high for the 47-year-old Obama, who will take over on January 20 amid a financial collapse and who will preside over two wars on his first day in office.

“The standing of everybody in the world is going to be affected by what President Obama does or doesn’t do,” said Mead, noting that all eyes will be looking to the new president for a way out of the global financial crisis.

In the Muslim world, the response has been mixed. A journalist with a pan-Arab news channel told FOX News that on election night, workers were going around the newsroom congratulating each other, as if Obama were their president-elect.

Iraqis have expressed skepticism that any rapid changes will come as a result of the election, but many see their fates ineluctably tied to Obama’s foreign policy. “By God, the new American President Obama has promised to pull the troops out. This is in the best interest of the Iraqi people,” said one Baghdadi.

Arab heads of state have been more circumspect, waiting to see whether Obama’s Mideast policy will depart significantly from that of the Bush administration, and some newspapers in the Arab world have openly announced their distrust of the president-elect.

“There is no significant difference between Obama and McCain. They disagree only on the means to achieve America’s chief goal, which is to rule for another hundred years,” said an editorial in the Saudi daily Al-Watan, according to the Middle East Media Research Institute, which monitors the Arab press.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad congratulated Obama Thursday for his win — the first time an Iranian leader has welcomed an incoming president since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. And some Iranians, speaking to FOX News, said they were excited by the prospect of the coming administration.

“I want to congratulate you on Barack Obama’s victory that really turned a new chapter in the world’s history — that an African-American man, decent and intelligent, became president of the world,” one Iranian said.

“This was done in America. Your nation has the credit for it.”

Not all observers expect this world embrace to be long-lasting. “I think overseas, as at home, opinion over the longer term will depend on what he actually does,” said John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

Obama was issued an early challenge Wednesday, as Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered the deployment of short-range missiles near his country’s border with Poland.

“Those who have issues with us are certainly not giving him a honeymoon,” Bolton said of Russia’s action, which may have been intended to send a cold word of welcome to Obama and to test his resolve.

Russian citizens, too, have been wary in their evaluation of the next president.

“I don’t think he can really become the world political leader,” said Tatyana Solomonova, a real estate agent in Moscow. “The fact that he’s black can be an obstacle — there’s still a lot of racism in the world, in Europe and Russia too. I think he can take a leading role in the Western hemisphere, but not in this part of the world.”

In Moscow Thursday, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who has a history of controversial remarks, was asked by a reporter about the prospect for U.S.-Russian relations after Berlusconi met with Medvedev.

Berlusconi responded by saying that the relative youth of Medvedev, 43, and Obama should make it easier for Moscow and Washington to work together.

Then he said, smiling: “I told the president that [Obama] has everything needed in order to reach deals with him: he’s young, handsome and even tanned.”

Italian news agencies said Berlusconi later defended his remark, calling the statement “a great compliment.”

“Why are they taking it as something negative? … If they have the vice of not having a sense of humor, worse for them,” the ANSA news agency quoted him as saying.

But Italy’s only black lawmaker, Jean-Leonard Touadi, called the comment embarrassing.

“In the United States, a joke like that wouldn’t just be politically incorrect, but a great offense to this amazing example of integration, which it seems the Italian premier should take as an example,” Touadi said.

For good or ill, all eyes are now on Obama.

“Not everybody is going to get what they want, but this is a moment of hope,” said Mead, who added that Obama was sure to fall short of some expectations.

“If you look at Jesus Christ, he walked on water and fed the 5,000 and he ended up getting crucified, so I think it’s not unlikely that President-elect Obama is gonna disappoint some people also.”

FOX News’ Dasha Bond, Courtney Kealy, Reena Ninan and Amy Kellogg contributed to this report

Update – 11/6/08

Indianapolis – Lines were long and tempers flared Wednesday not to vote but to get paid for canvassing for Barack Obama. Several hundred people are still waiting to get their pay for last-minute campaigning. Police were called to the Obama campaign office on North Meridian Street downtown to control the crowd.

The line was long and the crowd was angry at times.

“I want my money today! It’s my money. I want it right now!” yelled one former campaign worker.

A former spokesman for the Obama campaign said 375 people were hired as part of the Vote Corps program and said people signed up to work three-hour shifts at a time. Three hours of canvassing got workers a $30 pre-paid Visa card.

The workers showed up to get their cards Wednesday morning at 10:00 am.

“There was a note on the door saying 1:00 pm and then at 1:20 pm everybody was like why is nobody here. They just got here and they’re trying to get it organized,” said Heather Richards, a former campaign worker.

The large gathering of around 375 people prompted police to call in extra officers and set up temporary barricades. The barricades helped keep the crowd from spilling out onto Meridian Street. Police say the several hundred people in line were for the most part orderly.

“No arrests. Some of the people were upset at first because the line wasn’t moving as fast as they thought it should. But we really haven’t had any problems,” said Major Darryl Pierce, Metro Police.

Eventually people did start getting paid, but some said they were missing hours and told to fill in paperwork making their claim and that eventually they would get a check in the mail.

“Still that’s not right. I’m disappointed. I’m glad for the president, but I’m disappointed in this system,” said Diane Jefferson, temporary campaign worker.

“It should have been $480. It’s $230,” said Imani Sankofa.

“They gave us $10 an hour. So we added it. I added up all the hours so it was supposed to be at least $120. All I get is $90,” said Charles Martin.

“I worked nine hours a day for 4 days and got paid half of what I should have earned,” said Randall Waldon.

Some people weren’t satisfied with filling out a claim form for money they felt was still due to them.

“They say that they gonna call you or they going to mail it to you, but I don’t know. We’ll see what happens,” said Antron Grose.

“Talking about they’ll mail it to us. I ain’t worried about that, man. They’re not going to mail nothin’,” said Martin.

Indianapolis – A delay over paychecks caused several hundred campaign volunteers for Barack Obama to line up outside the Meridian Street office Wednesday.

Around 375 people lined up in front of the office in the 800 block of North Meridian in downtown Indianapolis Wednesday. They were hired do to last-minute canvassing before Tuesday’s election, which saw Indiana go “blue” for the first time since 1964.

When the workers showed up in the morning, they were told that the office didn’t have the money to pay them. They were told to come back in the afternoon.

Indianapolis Metro police officers noticed the long line and came out to control the crowd by setting up barricades to make sure people didn’t spill into the street. Some workers were angry, demanding to be paid today.

Someone affiliated from the Obama campaign office said it was unfortunate, and that they were working to get the money to pay the workers. Some workers claimed they were not being paid in full for the hours they worked, and they were asked to fill out a form and make a claim.

One has to wonder if this is just a sign of whats to come from the Obama administration… Promises promises promises – no delivery…

Actor Tim Robbins was not happy when told he would have to vote by provisional ballot in New York on Tuesday, TMZ.com is reporting.

The actor and well-known liberal activist became enraged when officials at his usual polling location in New York informed him that his name was not on the register, the Web site reports. When poll workers asked him to fill out a provisional ballot, he reportedly refused, and an altercation ensued, resulting in cops coming to the scene.

Determined to vote, Robbins went all the way to the City Board of Elections to obtain proof that he was a registered voter, TMZ.com says.

TMZ.com later caught up with the “Shawshank Redemption” star, who told them that he was “not the only one [who had a problem voting.]”

“While I was waiting, according to poll workers, 30 people in the first five hours of voting have been taken off the rolls, so you do the math on that. Six per hour, per district across America…”

Before disappearing to finalize his Election Day business, Robbins told TMZ.com to “go vote!”

Click here see the video and read more from TMZ.com.