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It looks like financier Steve Rattner's long-held dream of going to Washington has been dashed once again. In 2000, Rattner was on Al Gore's short list for Treasury secretary; more recently, he made a big bet on Hillary Clinton's candidacy, only turning his fundraising prowess to assist Barack Obama's campaign after Clinton dropped out of the race. But now it seems the one job in the Obama administration that Rattner was in the running for—as the nation's "car czar"—is no more. Obama has indicated he no longer plans to appoint a single person to oversee the auto industry, leaving the task to several of his key advisors. No word on whether Rattner's little scandal last week had anything to do with the president's decision, but feel free to let your conspiracy theories run wild. [NYT]