Of all the issues broached in the presidential campaign this year, the auto-industry rescue of 2008-09 stands out as an example of the triumph of spin over facts.

Keying off the New York Times's headline for Mitt Romney's 2008 op-ed, "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt," President Obama has argued that the only alternative to his "bold" rescue of General Motors and Chrysler would have been a disorderly liquidation of the entire U.S. auto industry. Yet a close reading of Mr. Romney's op-ed...