There can't be any question that this is politically motivated. Obama calls the shots, and the timing of this thing is calculated to benefit him politically, as "proof" that GM is back on its feet, "repaying" its debt to the taxpayers, and that TARP and the "stimulus" worked.

Once again, and I say this on average about once a day now: Obama's arrogance is only exceeded by what looks like incompetence, but is in fact brilliance: What do you think will happen when this IPO falls flat? Even though GM still lists itself as a "privately-held company," it is already owned by the government. That government is already going to spend whatever they can get out of GM's "debt repayment"--and they are going to spend it, rather than paying down the government's own debt. All Obama will do is make government ownership of GM official, which at this point is just a matter of changing the letterhead. They might even seize GM's remaining privately-owned stock to pay off the UAW.

Remember the Crypt Keeper?