But Romney in recent days has made a move for Michigan, where some polls have suggested the race has tightened. Obama on Thursday went up with his first ad in Michigan, which emphasizes the $80 billion bailout of General Motors and Chrysler. The ad also criticizes an op-ed Romney wrote for The New York Times in 2008 headlined “Let Detroit go bankrupt.”

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The Obama campaign has called Romney’s attempt to contest Michigan a bluff, arguing that he is searching for new electoral paths because polls show him trailing in Ohio. The president's team believes Obama's support for the bailout will help him in several Midwestern states.

Romney has accused Obama of misrepresenting his position on the auto bailout, arguing that he favored a “managed bankruptcy” for the car companies and suggesting Obama took his advice. GM and Chrysler did go through a managed bankruptcy, but it included government aid opposed by Romney. Obama argues the government was the only source of aid for the companies at the time, as no banks would have offered loans in the midst of the financial crisis.



The issue has particular resonance in Michigan because the companies that received the bailout, General Motors and Chrysler, are based in Detroit.

