Chrysler Repays All Federal Gov't Loans; Ted Strickland Kicks Elephant Tail

Today, Chrysler Group LLC paid the federal government $7.6 billion, representing a full re-payment of the loans it was given as part of the auto industry bailout:

The repayment — expected for weeks — is a huge step in the automaker's unlikely comeback. Chrysler went from a company that almost ran out of cash and survived a 2009 bankruptcy to one that is revamping its aging lineup and last quarter posted its first net profit in five years, a modest $116 million.

"I think this is going to close a painful and necessary chapter in our history," Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne said Monday at the opening celebration of a dealership in Detroit.

MSNBC put former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland on the air to discuss the news, and he did what he does best: tell it straight and kick elephant tail: