Seems to me Obama doesn't have to bargain with Bush for anything. The Swamp points out just how odd Bush's request is.
Swamp: President Bush was said to be seeking a horse-trade from President-elect Obama during their White House meeting yesterday. The current president evidently offered to support a bailout for the auto-industry if the future president supported the Colombia Free Trade Agreement.
In terms of domestic politics, it doesn't seem that Bush's pushing of the free-trade pact at this particular moment would help the Republican Party rebuild its image in states with large numbers of union workers and lots of anti-free trade agreement feeling, like Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania. That he's tying it to possible help for the auto industry makes even less sense.
