Michigan Republicans: Obama Taking Credit For Auto Revival
LANSING (WWJ/AP) - The head of Michigan's Republican Party says President Barack Obama is trying to take credit for reviving the state's auto industry.
Party Chair Bobby Schostak said in a media release that "the hardworking men and women who design, build and sell cars made that happen."
"In the wake of Republicans sweeping victory in Michigan and across the nation, President Obama should take note of the commonsense, responsible policies that are driving the economies in the states like ours," he added.
Obama spoke Wednesday to several hundred workers and invited guests at Ford Motor Co.'s Michigan Assembly Plant in the Detroit suburb of Wayne.
The president says the auto industry's comeback is a result of tough decisions his administration made in its early days, which included a financial bailout to General Motors and Chrysler.
"The auto industry has proved that any comeback is possible; and, by the way, so has the Motor City," Obama said, speaking at a podium behind which four 2015 Ford Focus vehicles and shiny new exhaust system and engine parts were on display.
Dearborn-based Ford didn't receive a bailout, but did get Department of Energy loans that it used to retool auto plants.
Obama's Michigan stop was one of three in a multi-state tour ahead of his State of the Union speech. The President visited Phoenix Thursday to discuss proposals for making home ownership more affordable, and will close his roadshow Friday in Tennessee, where he is expected to tout the state's new policy to pay for community college tuition.
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