GM, the biggest U.S. automaker, and No. 3 Chrysler are counting on President George W. Bush to approve emergency loans to help them stave off a collapse that would threaten millions of jobs. Without $14 billion in federal aid, the manufacturers will be out of money by early 2009, they say.

While bankruptcy court would be the best place under “normal circumstances” for automaker restructuring, “these aren’t normal circumstances,” Bush said during a forum today at the American Enterprise Institute, a policy research organization in Washington.

Boo hoo. The poor auto makers now want taxpayer money to keep them afloat. If not, the implied blackmail is, you lose the “high paying” jobs.

Of course the pain for auto workers is very real and nobody likes to see anyone lose their jobs. Still, a nationalization of the auto industry certainly seems like a cop out. Clearly, free trade principles are out the door when the government starts manufacturing autos.