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March 12th, 2012
03:17 PM ET
Campaign touting the auto bailout Washington (CNN)—When Vice President Joe Biden hits the campaign trail in the pivotal swing state of Ohio this week, he will likely focus on one of the Obama administration’s successes – the bailout of the auto industry. Biden gives the first in a series of four high profile speeches at a United Auto Workers union hall inToledo on Thursday. A Democratic campaign official tells CNN the speeches are designed "to begin framing the core issues of the general election." The auto industry in Ohio, a critical swing state in the upcoming presidential election, is key to the state’s economy. Ohio is only second to Michigan in auto production, employing 72,000 workers in the auto and parts industries. President Obama has touted his administration's 80 billion dollar bailout of the auto industry as preventing a (another) Great Depression in the Midwest. Recently at the UAW convention inWashington, DC, the president described the 2009 bailout as a bet on the American worker. "Now, three years later, that bet is paying off, not just for you but for America," the president said. It's no coincidence then that Biden's first major speech of the 2012 campaign is in Toledo, just 60 miles from the motor city of Detroit, Michigan. President Obama himself will visit Ohio Tuesday taking British Prime Minister David Cameron to an American tradition – March Madness – as they attend a first round game in the NCAA Men's basketball tournament. |
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I live in Michigan and am a Republican voter, but I believe the auto bailout was good policy. If it had not happened, I'd likely not be living here now, nor would a whole bunch of other folks. Our houses would basically be worthless and crime would be pretty ugly. Hundreds of thousands of jobs were saved because of the bailout.
However....Obama can't really take credit for it either. The idea was largely promoted by bipartisan groups of Great Lakes lawmakers in DC who had a vested interest in seeing Detroit/Toledo/Cleveland, etc. not turn into apocalypse zones, which was a possibility if the auto industry crashed. While Romney was against the bailout, he and other Republicans had floated ideas of organized bankruptcies, which is exactly what happened in the end. So, don't let Obama take the credit for this. If anyone had political courage in the auto bailout, it was Republican lawmakers who knew they might pay for this later with fiscally conservative constituents.
Can you give him credit for not saying,"No." to the auto bailout? Or, do you honestly believe that,"No." is the correct answer to all opportunities to save our industrial base?
Whatever you do, don't give Obama credit for providing them the necessary cash to retool in order to be more competitive.
Ungrateful people make me sick.
Absolutely true –" General Motors and Chrysler were restructured as part of the $85 billion auto bailout, which started under President George W. Bush's leadership".
Right. It was a bipartison decision, at the time. But, now right wingers want to change history by claiming that the decision was a huge mistake, made solely by Obama. They either ignore or deny their own past mistakes, then blame Obama for their failed policies.
I believe in admitting own's own mistakes, taking responsibility for ones own actions, and giving credit where credit is due.
Yes! And had it not been Obama's decision to include them in that bailout, they would have been out of here! Had he listened to you and your Rethuglicans who didn't want him to do it, thousands of people would be out here on the streets with no jobs!! BTW...is there ANYTHING under this Presidents Watch that he can take CREDIT for?? We see you all are QUICK to assign FAULT to him on most issues that have occurred under his Watch and before!! If it's something that's happened good under OBAMA's Watch....Bush did it!! If it's something that may or can be considered questionable, bad or controversial....Obama did it!! It is all about not giving Obama his just due...Oh! But you sure can hand him all the 'unjust due'! You folk are evil spinmeisters and you are going to pay one day for this! I pray very soon!! KARMA never forgets!!
Actually you do have to give credit to President Obama because the idea that an organized bancruptcy was going to work without the aid of a bailout was impossible. At this point in time the credit markets were frozen. No bank in their right mind would have loaned the companies the money to survive bankruptcy. So this idea that Mitt Romney and other GOP contenders keep promoting that the companies would have been fine without the bailout is completely false. If it were not for President Obama fighting for this bailout and getting money to these companies as quickly as possible to keep them aflout so they could go through bankruptcy without completely going under, you and a lot of other people could still be out of job and place to call your own right now. Regardless of who thought of the idea first, it was President Obama who got it pushed through at his own risk. Whether you want to admit it or not you know just as well as I do that had the bail out not worked you would have greatly critized the President, but now that it has worked the GOP is trying to keep him from getting the credit he rightfully deserves
The auto bailout, much like the banking bailout, is only a temporary stitch to hold something together that will ultimately unravel unless something else is done. Chevy and Chrysler may or may not have been a net loss for taxpayers (we're still something like 50 billion in the hole but when they pay taxes on profits I'll count that as towards the money we sunk in them). However thier reliability and reviews are still lower than just about everybody else (except perhaps Kia). So more than likely they'll relapse during any future economic problems and we'll be faced with whether or not to bail them out again. The banks are in a similar situation, as the primary driver for the bubble and burst has yet to be mended.
I hate to hear that people would have had to pick up and move; but my family has done it before to chase work and countless others have as well. It's a part of life.
I wouldn't write Detroit off so quickly...BTW I know too many people that having bought one Kia won't make that mistake again.
GO FOR IT JOE....GIVE THE WORD TO THE NAY SAYERS...THAT WITHOUT OUR PRESIDENT FOLLOWING THROUGH ON THE AUTO INDUSTRY MILLIONS OF WORKERS WOULD STILL BE AMONG THE UNEMPLOYED. THE OTHER SIDE,, THE REPUBLICANTS ARE STILL DOWNPLAYING EVERTYHING HE HAS DONE WHILE THEY TRY TO MESS UP THE LIVES OF THE NATIONS WOMEN!!! TELL THEM WHAT HE HAS MANAGED TO GET DONE WITHOUT ANY HELP FROM THE REPUBLICANTS!!!! VOTE DEMOCRATIC AND SAVE OUR COUNTRY!!
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That's right!
JUST ANOTHER PART OF THE DUMB AND DUMBER TEAM.
I grade Obama presidency -F. Not more , not less.Period.
I sure wouldn't want to have to grade your words nor thought patterns! LOL!! Yes we are better off than we were 3 years ago! What rock have you been hiding under? If we keep your Rethuglicans out, we will continue on the road to recovery!
Do we better off, than 3 years? Sh.. no. No more YES WE CAN, but YES WE FAIL. THIS IS THE LOGO FOR OBAMA campaign.
Yes, things are better now for the American economy than it was 3 years ago just after the crisis.
Even the talking heads of the right wing know that (which is why they are spending less time discussing it dishonestly nowadays than they used to).
MILKIE......IF YOU GRADE OBAMA AN "F'".......WHAT WOULD YOU GIVE GEORGE BUSH WHO WAS LEFT A COUNTRY IN GOOD SHAPE AND SCUTTLED IT ???? "FACT"!!
You know what i'd call someone who took on the Bush mess and tried to clean it up? " A MAN !!""
These right wingers really distort the truth I've been listening to them and all they do is speak non facts. Obama had 3years to clean up a big mess that was caused by the same party that blames him for the mess. FACT
Come on CNN, there's real news out there but I guess you're too lazy to leave your desks.
To the first 3 or 4 posters on this thread who want to CLAIM that President Obama is NOT the one who should be taking credit for the auto bailout, especially the Alger Dave, you all are a few of THE most disingenious, non-appreciative, dishonest, lying haters so far on this subject. You know we all remember Republicans going against Obama about bailing out the auto Industry. They ran around from newsstations to newsstations screaming let it fall!! Let them have to go through bankruptcy like everbody else....don't bail them out!! He (Obama) should let them go under, like everybody else has had to do and then restructure, reinvent themselves and start over!! These are just a few of the statements that were being spewed by your Rethuglicans...now if you want to make the claim that Republican lawmakers were responsible for the bailout of the auto industry and not Obama, who thank GOD didn't listen to that CRAP, how is it that they didn't shut the Rethuglican EGOMANIACS up?? Now that the industry has been saved, you have the gall to hand the credit to the 'CONS'!! How strange!! How foolish, really! Or you may think we are all 'out to lunch'! Well we ate lunch yesterday...we're present today!! The union workers and other interest groups you mentioned...OBAMA LISTENED TO THEM!! He was certainly was in agreement with them, rather than the beauracratic non-caring Rethuglicans, who didn't CARE if the industry failed! They SAID as much!! 'Don't let Obama take credit for saving the auto industry' is one of the stupidest statements on a REAL issue I've heard yet!! LOL!! You all are SOOOO pathetic!!
Auto industry?? Do you think that was all!! Everybody who's been watching these 'politics' knows that the REPUBLICAN PARTY/TEAPARTYERS and it's ENTHUSIASTS will just as well be thrilled to see ALL OF AMERICA topple on over the CLIFF, just as long as it 'totally finishes' happening under Obama's watch and makes him look bad...and that way they could blame the whole fall of NEW BABYLON on the African American President!! You know...'the one who thinks he's smarter than you'! 'The SNOB'! They are and have been working very constructively and tediously to make sure that happens!! It will not work though, Mr & Mrs Greed O. People, because the 'AGES' won't allow it to happen. The apocalypse of the US and the world will ONLY happen in GOD's time and by HIS ordination.
The costs of a shutdown of Ford, GM and Chrysler was tmeisated in 2008. Personal income was projected to decline by $398 billion by 2011. Federal, state and local governments would be hit with a double whammy: losing a large amount of revenue while their welfare costs would increase by $156 billion through 2011. An additional $25 billion would disappear from the GDP (0.2% per year, not including lost jobs and wages). Taking all of the numbers at face value, the cost of the bailout is less than 4% of the prospective loss.