Washington (CNN) - President Barack Obama chose the day of the Michigan Republican primary for what might be his highest octane attack on the Republican candidates to date.

He hit them where the Obama team believes the GOP has the upper hand: the auto bailout.

Speaking to a fired up audience at a United Auto Workers conference in Washington, the president took a swipe at Mitt Romney without naming him telling the crowd, "some even said we should 'let Detroit go bankrupt.'"

Later he went after Republican opposition to the bailout by nearly cussing:

"They're saying that the problem is that you, the workers, made out like bandits in all of this; that saving the American auto industry was just about paying back unions. Really? Even by the standards of this town, that's a load of you-know-what!"
FULL POST