I had heard people talking about The White House White Board, but had not seen one before this. And now I want to go back and look at the previous ones. This is what should have happened more than a year ago, and should have been–and should be now–publicized as much as possible.

In the video below, Austan Goolsbee, the Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under Obama, describes the astonishing success of the GM bailout, using nothing but a simple whiteboard and a plain, down-to-earth mini-lecture format. View the video full-screen to get the most of the HD quality:

As you can see, it’s about as low-budget as you can get–but it’s also very effective. Succinct, educational, and not boring–a straightforward telling of an economic success story in terms anyone can understand. No flashy effects, no smarmy music, no ham-handed political demagoguery–just a guy in a shirt and tie giving a lecture, and you come away feeling like you just attended a really good college class. It almost reminds me of something you might have seen on The West Wing back when Sorkin was writing the show.

And this particular episode clears up so much of the lies and obfuscation about the auto industry bailout–how it was done fairly, how it challenged the odds, and how it became a rousing success–that so many Americans need to hear because they probably still believe that the money was wasted somehow, or that the bailout and its terms were socialist and destructive somehow.

I’ll be look at these things more often and posting some here from time to time.