Bankruptcy, then bailout

Not the other way around. The finish line of solvency is moving further away as the automakers destroy cash. Or another way to put it, how about fixing the leaks in the bucket first, then pouring anew?

Shouldn't they cast off all their baggage before attempting to finish the race?

UPDATE: Holman Jenkins on the bailout:

Alas, Barack Obama's vaunted "change" apparently doesn't include spending the political capital to make Congress acknowledge the failure of CAFE. If he can't do better than throw taxpayer money at a dismal policy disaster like our fuel-economy regulations (and so far he seems to be joining Congress in pretending it's all Detroit's fault), we might as well give up on his presidency along with any hope of progress on the nation's other unresolved dilemmas.

His campaign never really answered the question of whether he was Chance the Gardener or Abraham Lincoln. We might as well find out now.