President Barack Obama will defend his economic stewardship on Friday by reminding voters in a visit to an Ohio auto plant that his rescue of the industry saved jobs in a state vital to his 2012 re-election hopes
Obama will arrive in Toledo hours after the release of a monthly employment report that is expected to deliver Americans a stark reminder the labor market remains weak and unemployment high.
The numbers follow a rash of data signaling the U.S. economy may be losing steam. Obama, a Democrat, must coax the jobless rate down convincingly in order to be confident of securing a second White House term.
Polls show he is still favored over all potential Republican opponents. But the troubled economy remains his biggest weakness. On Thursday Mitt Romney kicked off his second bid for the White House by accusing Obama of spending too much and not protecting jobs.
Obama won Ohio by a 4-point margin over challenger John McCain in 2008. But the state went narrowly to Republican President George W. Bush in 2004 and is expected to be a highly competitive race in 2012.
The White House claims credit for Obama’s rescue of the auto industry and hopes this success for U.S. manufacturing will warm him to blue-collar voters whose support he needs to win next year.
“The president took dramatic action, including unpopular decisions like bailing out the … American auto industry, because he felt it was the right thing to do,” White House press secretary Jay Carney said on Thursday.
Chrysler repaid the U.S. government $5.9 billion last month and the U.S. Treasury announced on Thursday it will sell its remaining 6 percent equity stake in the firm to Italy’s Fiat in a deal netting Washington $560 million.
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Ford didnt take a cent from the govertment and is doing much better then GM and Crysler.
Also lets not forget thet the creditors of GM and Crysler (mostly hedge funds with the life savings of ordinery hard working Americens) were given $0.10 on the dollar while the pension funds of the union workers who are responsible bor bankrupting the compeny to begin with got 100% of their share.