• New York Times, Detroit Free Press, Reuters, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, Adweek , Monday, November 3, 2008 11 AM

The theme of the day -- and perhaps the week, or month, or year -- is unrequited wooing. One of the major presidential tickets is, of course, on its way to a major rejection after many months of pleading for betrothal with the American public. Thousands of local candidates are steeling themselves for the same slap in the face.

Meanwhile, on the major-brands beat, General Motors is looking for help with its dowry for a marriage with Chrysler but is getting a getting a frosty reaction from Washington. The Treasury Dept. has nixed a request by the automaker for up to $10 billion to help finance the possible merger, sources tell the Times. Instead, according to Reuters, the Bush administration is working to speed the distribution of $25 billion in low-cost loans for automakers to retool factories.

Meanwhile, the Detroit Free Press reports, "many on Wall Street expect a GM bankruptcy within the year should [CEO Rick] Wagoner and his team fail to get outside help." But, as Justin Hyde and Brent Snavely point out, banks have their own problems and it's a tough time to raise money.

The Financial Times tells us that the chances of an advertising alliance of convenience between Yahoo and Google look increasingly slim as the young couple have failed to resolve long-running talks with the parental unit -- also known as the Justice Dept. -- about its potentially anticompetitive effects.

A bitter father-daughter squabble over the family business -- National Amusements -- is likely to force the sale of some of its assets or a stake in the holding company itself, according the Wall Street Journal . The company is struggling to make payments on loans and notes.

Summer and Shari Redstone's long disagreement over the viability of the movie-theater chain that Shari runs is reportedly at the heart of the current crisis. Shari insists that the theaters aren't to blame for the company's predicament; dad seems to think otherwise. "One development that may ease tensions between the sparring relatives," quoth the Journal, is "Mr. Redstone's divorce from his wife."

A Times headline informs us that "Hefty Discounts Could Arrive on Big-Screen TVs, But Buyers May Be Resistant." Manufacturers including Panasonic and Sharp are also working with retailers to offer attractive financing deals. Others are bundling items -- like a flat-screen TV with a Blu-ray player -- to attract customers. But the financial picture is so glum that, despite the attractive incentives, buyers may not even venture into the stores take a look-see, reports Eric A. Taub.

Finally, Alan Wolk writes about "NASCAR blindness" amongst people in the ad business. "This disease is the strongly held belief that if no one in your little bubble of upscale, artsy Bobo friends is into something, then clearly no one else is, either," Wolk proclaims in a guest column in Adweek . The cure for this malaise -- as it is in so many one-sided relationships -- is simply listening to the partner with whom you wish to maintain a relationship. In this case, the partner controls the purse strings of middle America .

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