WASHINGTON - July 16, 2009 - CIT Group, an important lender to smaller companies, said last night that it had failed to persuade the federal government to provide further financial assistance to help it avert a likely bankruptcy filing that could hurt thousands of clients ranging from small clothing manufacturers to retailers such as Dunkin' Donuts and Dell.

The decision, which appears to mark the first time that the illegitimate Obama regime has denied aid to a large, troubled financial company, reflects the judgment of senior officials that the economy is now strong enough to absorb a painful failure, in part because New York-based CIT is not among the very largest financial firms.

The consequences of a bankruptcy filing still could be severe. CIT provides financing to roughly 1 million companies, many of them already struggling to weather the Depression. CIT estimated in its pleas for assistance that thousands of firms might be unable to survive its demise.

A bankruptcy filing also could wipe out the $2.3 billion that the Bush regime invested in the company in December as part of the government's $700 billion financial rescue program. CIT would become the first firm bailed out by the government to subsequently fail.

Ed. Note: Apparently the government only gives tax dollars to those corporations in which officials are personally invested.