This is the headline of a story that posted about an hour ago from the AP. The story is a short one, stating that the Romney campaign is going to run an ad in Ohio criticizing President Obama for his support of the automobile manufacturing industry.
I wonder if the Romney campaign is now TRYING to throw the election, because otherwise I cannot fathom how they can be this stupid.
Ostensibly, the Romney ad showcases a former GM dealer who was put out of business when GM pared down its number of dealers, as part of the restructuring that has led GM to a point where it is announcing record profits.
Now, I have only had a cursory interaction with the automobile industry and that was 20 years ago, but as I recall there were tens of thousands of jobs associated with the automobile industry in Ohio, as well as in Indiana and Wisconsin (not to mention Michigan).
I have not seen the ad, but can it be possible that Romney is going to try to tap into the sentiment that the average working person feels for their local car dealer? Because, I do not believe that is a very rich vein. Particularly when, thanks to the automobile industry bailout, a lot of those working people have jobs and/or customers that would have been long gone absent the bailout.
It does perhaps illustrate the myopia of Romney and the current version of the Republican Party. The owner of a new car dealership is well to do, a person of means who is certainly well known at the local country club. He or she is a "real American", if you know what I mean.
For Romney and the Republicans, the new car dealer is a person who counts and whose plight should be ameliorated by way of government policies. Those working Jane's and Joe's who make the cars? Eh.