WHAT'S GOOD FOR GENERAL MOTORS...

The head of GM, Charles Wilson, became the Secretary of Defense under President Eisenhower.

During one hearing, related to some controversy over whether Wilson was favoring GM as a supplier, (GM at the time was the archetypal model of a huge, efficiently managed company doing consumer and government business -- but solely interested in its own success), Wilson is reported to have defended his actions by saying "What's good for General Motors, is good for the country." (Note: That quote in context might have been somewhat less pointed.)

It was roundly denounced.

Indeed, Eisenhower's finest moment as President may have been his farewell speech, warning about the "Military-Industrial Complex" (including companies like GM).

It is very amusing that President Obama refers to that famous remark, giving it a new, ironic justification, in closing his speech on the GM bankruptcy.