CNN VIDEO, LZ Granderson, CNN Contributor, ESPN.COM Sr. Writer.
Uploaded by MrObamanos on Feb 17, 2012
Let Detroit Go Bankrupt.
That was the headline on a New York Times opinion piece Mitt Romney wrote in late 2008, arguing against a U.S. taxpayer bailout of America's iconic auto industry.
It was a tough-love message from the son of a former Michigan governor, a made-in-Detroit politician who felt government intervention "virtually guaranteed" the demise of Chrysler and General Motors.
Fast forward almost four years. The carmakers are making money again and Romney is the one in trouble - unexpectedly battling Rick Santo-rum ahead of Michigan's Republican presidential primary on Feb. 28.
Romney launched a major effort Tuesday to rescue his campaign in the Great Lakes State, amid concerns that defeat there is not only possible, but potentially crippling to his White House ambitions.
"The Romney people know they are in some trouble here," says Matt Grossmann, a political scientist at Michigan State University.
The save-Michigan strategy includes a new television ad touting Romney's family ties to the auto industry and a bid to clarify the reasons he opposed the $85-billion US bailout for Chrysler and GM.
Romney's super PAC, Restore our Future, is supplementing the candidate's effort with its own $640,000 ad buy - further evidence the former Massachusetts governor's allies think his campaign is sputtering in Michigan.
"A loss in Michigan would be the most devastating blow yet to Romney's candidacy," says Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. "He grew up there, his father was governor, and he won the state four years ago. There is just no way Romney could spin this defeat to minimize it."
The new Michigan TV ad shows Romney behind the wheel of a Chrysler and features footage of classic Detroit cars. The candidate reminiscences about attending the Detroit auto show with his father, George, who was chief executive of American Motors in the 1950s and early 1960s. Romney was born in Detroit and his father was governor of Michigan from 1963-69.
In a separate opinion piece published in Tuesday's Detroit News, Romney says he opposed the Obama administration's bailout of Chrysler and General Motors because it was "crony capitalism" that amounted to "an $85-billion sweetheart deal" for auto unions at the expense of company creditors.
"The indisputable good news is that Chrysler and General Motors are still in business," Romney writes. "The equally indisputable bad news is that all the defects in President (Barack) Obama's management of the American economy are evident in what he did."
The ad and article are aimed at Re-publican primary voters, who polls show are warming to Santorum.
The former Pennsylvania governor, who won nominating contests last week in Colorado, Missouri and Minnesota, has emphasized his own blue-collar roots and championed the need for a rebirth of American manufacturing.
A Rasmussen Reports poll on Feb. 13 showed Santorum with a three-point lead over Romney in Michigan. A separate Public Policy Polling survey found a wider Santorum advantage. Nationally, a New York Times/ CBS News poll on Tuesday showed Santorum with 30-per-cent support and Romney with 27 per cent.
While Romney has one eye on Santorum, he appears also to be targeting independent voters whose sup-port he will need to make Michigan competitive in November if he wins the GOP nomination.
Obama's campaign has repeatedly attacked Romney for opposing the auto industry bailout, saying "there would not be an American auto industry" if the former Massachusetts governor had been in the White House.
Romney Running Out Of Gas In Michigan
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