The $700 billion bailout recently passed by Congress may be broad enough to allow the Treasury to purchase an equity stake in an institution it views as key to the economy. GM has about 266,000 employees worldwide and even a public relations intern could make the case the company is vital to the nation’s economy.

Meanwhile, GM’s stock is near a 60-year low as the company ponders jangling the tin cup in search of a handout.

GM ended merger talks with Ford. Negotiations with Chrysler stalled when the companies couldn’t agree how much value the No. 3 US automaker lost while owned by Cerberus Capital Management, a private equity fund.

Ford holds about a 33% stake in Japan’s Mazda and may sell a portion of it to raise cash. If so, Wall Street almost certainly would applaud the action.

Toyota (TM) will offer 0% financing on 11 models in an effort to boost sagging sales in the credit crunch. Honda (HMC), known for high quality, said September’s sales fell 24% from a year ago.

What’s clear is that GM needs cash - and soon.

The company ended the second quarter with about $21 billion in hand and has subsequently used $4.5 million in revolving credit. GM appears to be spending about $1 billion a month and says it needs to maintain $11 billion to $14 billion in cash to fund its worldwide operations.

Wilson made his now-famous comment about the importance of GM to the nation’s economy in a closed Congressional hearing where he defended his investments and his integrity. The now-familiar quote came from a senator speaking to reporters from memory - and he got it wrong.

Wilson -- known as “Engine Charlie” -- became GM’s president in 1941 after rising through the ranks. He handled the company’s switch to wartime production and then steered it into the post-war boom. Senators were concerned about a possible conflict of interest: GM was then a major supplier to the Defense Department - the same agency Eisenhower had tapped Wilson to head.

In defending his investments and integrity, Wilson actually said:

“I cannot conceive of one because for years I thought what was good for our country was good for General Motors and vice versa. The difference did not exist. Our company is too big. It goes with the welfare of the country.”

That was then. Is GM now too big to fail?

The answer may reveal as much about our psychology as the economy.