President Barack Obama's financial recovery plans have been derided by the Republican leadership and some in his Democratic Party as excessive, profligate spending that will damage the economy for years to come.

Early last week, he took a bold stance toward General Motors and Chrysler, saying that they must revise their core businesses if they would receive any future government money. He told GM CEO Rick Wagoner to step aside after 32 years. And he told GM, which shared $17 billion in federal bailout money with Chrysler late last year, to more radically retool the company within 60 days if it wants to receive a requested $16.6 billion more.

Chrysler, a privately held company, needs to merge with a partner, most likely the international automaker Fiat, which is based in Italy, or try to survive without further public subsidy after 30 days. If it can merge, an additional $6 billion might be available.

His tone was reminiscent of a parent who is at wits' end with a recalcitrant teenager who defies making significant, radical change to pull himself or herself out of a downward spiral.

The president, who included an ode to the "pillar of our economy" auto industry and its workers, said strong medicine is needed to cure a sick patient.

He told autoworkers and many people in associated jobs, such as suppliers and vendors, that "I will fight for you." He also clearly said more tough times lie ahead as the industry morphs because of mistakes not made by those workers.

The reality is that more jobs will be lost and more plants will be closed. But even more important are remolding operations and making products that can compete globally.

Unions and the working class were bedrocks of the Obama presidential campaign. On Monday, he stood before the world and told their employers to atone for "past poor decisions."

The automobile industry is a giant in the U.S. economy without doubt. How this unfolds is far beyond parochial interest in Michigan and automaking centers in the country, including the St. Louis area.

The collapse of Wall Street titans and international financial behemoths like AIG wreaked havoc worldwide as the credit crunch and toxic assets dragged gold-star companies into the ditch. Those tossed aside were average workers and consumers for whom derivatives and the world market economy seem mystical, far beyond their checking accounts, house or car loans and 401(k)s.

Reordering the equivalent of gastric bypass surgery on the once-muscular auto industry resonates in the gut. Americans have bought these cars for decades, trusted them to carry their loved ones every day, changed their oil in their driveways and prided themselves in owning honorable American products.

The dire conditions dig even deeper in places such as St. Louis, where thousands of people have been employed in coveted, well-paying jobs. Area plant workers take great pride that their toil is widely respected.

Automaker struggles are just one part of a global recession. Bonuses paid after AIG received billions in federal bailout funds created incendiary political and public reaction.

But as the president set deadlines for the companies to reform, it also evoked a visceral reaction. We might not meet a lot of hedge-fund managers or online traders. But we do feel the community presence of auto plants, their workers and their products.

The gauntlet has been laid. Tough love is hard to deliver because there is no guarantee that immediate hardship and pain will lead to a better place.

Americans should hope that the president nailed down the next step toward rebuilding. But he also should adopt a similarly resolute stance with other bailout money by mandating strict timetables and tangible reform among the financial companies.