Is Obama using Control of Chrysler to pay off political donors?

The internet has been buzzing with the discovery that many of the Chrysler dealerships that were shut down were owned by Republican supporters who opposed Obama. However, this didn't seem like a solid argument to me at the time. First, I presume that most entrepeneurs who have to work for a living would oppose Obama, so maybe most all of the dealerships are Republicans. Second, we were told that the list of closures was generated by Chrysler, so there was no chance for Obama to interfere.

However, tonight Gateway Pundit is reporting new information that blows a hole in that theory, and strongly suggests that Obama is in fact using the power of the presidency, and the control he has over the car companies because of OUR TAX DOLLARS, to reward democratic donors and Obama supporters while driving better dealerships run by Republicans out of business.

From the Gateway Pundit:

Now there's this...RLJ-McLarty-Landers is owned by three men.One was the former Chief of Staff for President Clinton.One is the founder of Black Entertainment Television and a huge Obama supporter.All 6 of their Chrysler dealerships will remain open.And, get this... Their local competitors have been eliminated!
...
More... The decision to close the dealerships was made by Obama officials and not Chrysler.

I dislike major stories reported from blogs. It is a shame that the major media outlets refuse to even investigate this story, as it could be a bigger scandal than Watergate, a greater abuse of presidential power than the teapot dome scandal.