Posted Nov. 11, 2008 – The struggling auto industry was foremost on the mind of president-elect Barack Obama as he visited the White House Oval Office for the first time on Monday, according to news reports.

Obama put himself in the middle of a political standoff between the White House and Democrats on Monday as he asked President Bush in a meeting at the White House to support immediate emergency aid to the automakers, according to The New York Times.

President Bush indicated at the meeting that he might support some aid and a broader economic stimulus package if Obama and congressional Democrats dropped their opposition to a free-trade agreement with Colombia, a measure for which Bush has long fought. Obama on his Web site and in the Senate has voiced opposition to the Columbia agreement, saying it was anti-union. 

The Bush administration, which has presided over a major intervention in the financial industry, has balked at allowing the automakers to get any of the $700 billion bailout fund, despite warnings last week that General Motors was on the brink of bankruptcy.

Obama went into his post-election meeting with Bush on Monday primed to urge him to support emergency aid to the auto industry, advisers to Obama said. But Democrats also indicate that neither Obama nor congressional leaders are inclined to concede the Colombia pact to Bush, and may decide to wait until Obama assumes power on Jan. 20.