Memo to CEOs: Ask for a bailout, and your company will be reduced to a caricature. Recent congressional hearings on the plight of GM, Ford, and Chrysler have illuminated a few important issues—like how the Detroit executives travel when on business. Populist politicians and gotcha journalists delighted at the prospect of rich CEOs riding corporate jets to ask for taxpayer money. There was a little talk about jobs and cars and the foundering economy, too.

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