Rick Wagoner has left the building

Rick Wagoner has handed in his resignation.
Now, I understand that this may not seem relevant to you; you may not even know who Mr. Wagoner is. It should be relevant, however.
The Chairman and CEO of General Motors stepped down today, at the request of Barack Obama.
After a 30 year career with the company, the President of the United States told Mr. Wagoner that unless he stepped down, GM would not be receiving any more money from the government. Rick did not HAVE to step down; he could have refused. I'm sure that would have made him very popular at the office Christmas party.
It frightens me somewhat that our government has decided that they have to have control over private businesses as well as government run operations. It frightens me that the government has the power to do this. It frightens me that the one man in the position to cause this to happen is willing to take that step. What does President Obama hope to gain from this action?
True, I don't know whether or not Rick Wagoner was a good CEO and I don't know if his leaving is going to be good for the company or not. I do know that, as far as I've heard, GM is still a private business, and the government should not be controlling it. Your thoughts on the matter? Was President Obama right in making his ultimatum? Should he have let things be?

If you want to read more about Rick Wagoner and his leaving, follow this link. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0309/20625.html