THE WAY THINGS WORK - AT 8:23 P.M. ET:  Comcast has announced a proposed merger with NBC Universal, which in practical terms is a sale of the latter to the former.  Such things require federal approval, and, well, there are things that one must do.  Andrew Breitbart's Big Government blog informs us that gestures are already being made:

A day, one single day, after the two media giants announced their deal, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts proudly weighed in to strongly support the Senate Democrats’ health care reform bill.

Now Comcast is a big company, with about 100,000 employees. I’m sure health care costs have a big impact on their bottom line. But the bottom line impact on Roberts’ personal net worth will be much greater if the federal government, with a big say-so from the US Senate, approves the $13 billion deal.

So Roberts’s heartfelt letter to the president in support of the Democrats’ singular policy issue was the first action he took in what is expected to be a twelve-month regulatory review process. This is an action with absolutely no relevance to the vast intricacies of the merger, but a move that sets a new standard for blatant pandering aimed at a group of people for whom pandering is the new coin of the realm.

Pander they must.  Apparently, this is part of the change we can believe in. 

On the other side of the transaction, GE CEO Jeff Immelt has been among Obama’s biggest corporate cheerleaders. Immelt is particularly eager to see more government help in the credit realm to benefit GE Capital and to continue to vast government handouts for wind turbines in which GE is heavily invested. Immelt has already pledged his undying support for Obamacare. And now, his company stands to win a huge influx of cash if his new pals in Washington will approve this transaction.

COMMENT:  Yuch.

December 4, 2009