WASHINGTON The recovery of the American auto industry, which repaid a significant part of its debt to the federal government on Tuesday, has sparked a political battle over who deserves credit and who deserves blame. On the day that Chrysler wrote a check repaying $5.1 billion to the United States Treasury, President Obama and his Democratic allies claimed credit for saving a crucial industry in Michigan, a state that will be a critical battleground in the 2012 presidential election.
Democrats also sought to highlight past statements from Mr. Obamas likely Republican rivals, who had criticized the president for a federal bailout that they said was unnecessary and wasteful.
The Democratic National Committee on Tuesday released a YouTube video highlighting a 2008 opinion article by Mitt Romney in The New York Times titled Let Detroit Go Bankrupt. In the video, Mr. Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts, is shown asserting, If you write a check, they are going to go out of business.
In 2009, Mr. Romney said Mr. Obamas plans for rescuing the automobile industry were tragic and a very sad circumstance for this country.
A Romney spokesman said on Tuesday that the presidents plan was modeled after one Mr. Romney advocated in 2008.
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