Fed. Bailout, Automakers & Tax Dollars twist in an NPR Interview

 Under the title "Rep. Frank Wants to Extend Bailout to Automakers" NPR aired this story On Nov. 19.

  It's at: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97187470 and well worth a good listen.

  This interview is a Fascinating, somewhat combative interview between two fine pros: Rep. Barney Frank and Steve Inskeep, of NPR. It's instructive to see where suppostions are made, meanings are missed, and the two are both hurt by the concision of someone's deadline. Whose? It's not clear why this story is so clipped, or why the end of the transcript is cut off. On air, you could hear Inskeep compliment Rep. Frank for clarifying a complex topic with only "seconds" to work with. It's a fascinating exchange about BILLIONS of PUBLIC TAX DOLLARS that is being reported at a vital time in the presidential 2008 transition.
   Who is holding the stop watch? Why is this interview so short. Yes NPR does mostly a headline service and print is expected to give depth and meaning. But we know NPR can do this heavy lifting so what's up? I followed Frank a bit around the Boston DNC. He's sharp as a tack and trying to give Inskeep a fuller picture of all the conditional requirements of the federal loan. He finally gets upset and asks about "deliberate distortion."