Romney blasts Obama in Ohio over auto industry bailout
Republican tries to take his campaign up a gear with new TV advert, but is pilloried by Obama team for false allegation about losing jobs to China
Mitt Romney has blasted Barack Obama over the US car industry bailout in a new campaign advert and blamed him for sending car companies into bankruptcy.
The attack is being seen as a sign of continued concern over the political impact of the Republican presidential candidate's opposition to the bailout.
Romney also falsely implies in the advert that the president's actions prompted Chrysler to send jobs to China.
Thousands of jobs in the upper Midwest were tied to the carmakers' bailout - US$80 billion in federal loans to General Motors and Chrysler - that many credit for saving the industry.
For months Obama has hammered Romney for his opposition to the bailout.
But the new advert being aired by Romney says Obama caused Jeep's parent company - Chrysler - to be sold to an Italian company that plans to move production overseas. While it is true that Chrysler may produce Jeeps in China under its Fiat owners, that represents an expansion targeting Chinese buyers. No American jobs will be lost.
"Who will do more to support the auto industry? Not Barack Obama," the advert says.
"Mitt Romney has a plan to help the auto industry. Obama took GM and Chrysler into bankruptcy and sold Chrysler to Italians who are going to build Jeeps in China. Mitt Romney will fight for every American job."
Chrysler weighed in to reassure Ohioans that no manufacturing is being moved out of the state, and the Obama campaign denounced the advert.
Former president Bill Clinton told a rally in Youngstown, Ohio: "It turns out that Jeep is reopening in China because they made so much money here they can afford to do it and they are going on with their plans here.
"They put out a statement today saying that it was the biggest load of bull in the world that they would consider shutting down their American operation."
The Obama campaign launched a competing advert noting Chrysler's statement and reminding voters that Romney opposed the bailout.
Vice-President Joe Biden described Romney's claims as bizarre. He said: "Ladies and gentlemen, have they no shame? I mean, what? Romney will say anything, absolutely anything to win, it seems. But he can't run from the truth."
Romney's campaign team did not respond to questions about whether the claim was misleading. The debate over the car industry bailout is of prime importance in Ohio. Obama holds a minimal lead in most polls, but Romney is fighting feverishly to close the gap.
Every winning Republican presidential candidate has carried the state, and losing it would make Romney's path to 270 electoral votes much more difficult.
As election day nears, the Romney campaign is continuing to argue that Obama followed Romney's prescription to save the industry.
Obama and independent analysts say it was necessary to offer federal loans to the companies to get them through bankruptcy because, at the time, banks were no longer lending to struggling industries.
Because credit was frozen, Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, gave GM and Chrysler a bridging loan in December 2008.
The federal loans were offered and the companies are now profitable.
Romney opposed the federal bailout and instead favoured private lending backed by loan guarantees.
He also backed the companies' entrance into bankruptcy, although that is not mentioned in the advert or by his supporters.
