Video: Romney wants credit for auto bailout

>> nation is following marriage back lash against mitt romney for trying to steal credit for president obama 's auto industry bailout. romney plainly laid out his opposition to the auto bailout. you certainly recall back in 2008 in an op ed titled let detroit go bankrupt. today the architect of the plan that saved detroit slammed romney for what he calls a rewriting of history.

>> great ceos do not have this muddled message where every day it is a different message and nothing makes much sense. some of what romney has said that's been the most ridiculous he said in op ed pieces where he is presumably had time to reflect and say what he really thinks as opposed to stump statements on the campaign speech.

>> it is not just the president supporters. laura ingram was tangled up in her effort to defend the presumptive gop nominee.

>> there were a lot of people that ended up getting shafted in that bailout and a lot of auto parts manufacturers and people that didn't get the returns that they hoped to get out of the wonderful --

>> then why would you say to take a lot of credit for the fact the industry has come back?

>> rick santorum in .

>> romney is romney .

>> what does that mean? joining me michael smir connish and ae stoddard and nobody knows radio better than you. she says romney is romney . help me understand what happened there.

>> i don't know if i can. i will try. i think that governor romney here is trying to take credit for the whole totality of the deal that went down. he can rightfully lay claim for having been supportive of a managed bankruptcy but not for the bailout, and i think that he is playing loose with his language and saying what they did is what i was supportive of but that's just not accurate. that's half the story at best because the bailout component which was necessary because of a lack of other funding opportunities was something that he opposed. he can't say this is what i was for.

>> and i guess, michael , it is always the warning where he believes he will get credit for it rather than maybe saying, a.b., listen, part of what happened i did support which was a managed bankruptcy, but in the beginning you need the bailout. to say you deserve credit, this is the same person who slammed the president for saying that this country went in at his leadership to get osama bin laden and obviously that is ane but he wants to claim credit for the auto bailout here. what gives?

>> as michael said, this is a big stretch for rick santorum in i and republicans know it. it will be tough to defend him and the statements he made. i can understand that he has designs on michigan and trying to campaign there even though it is not a state the obama considers in play. however, i can also understand him saying when talking to people in michigan who supported the bailout maybe the "new york times" was not fair to me and made up this headline that said let detroit go bankrupt and it is not actually what i was saying and advocating for managed us bankruptcy. there is a with a i to explain himself but to say the president did what he promote and had suggested as michael points out is just not true. he said that he wanted banks to proceed federal loan guarantees at the time the obama administration said because of the financial crash in late fall of '08 and there just wasn't enough liquidity and that the government had to step in and provide the bailout funds. it actually isn't true and i can understand why he would try to explain himself to those voters. he really overstepped.

>> to your point of it not being true, rachel maddow , i believe months ago, a.b., she presented her side or at least a case in why so many people believe that mitt romney has an issue with the truth or a blind spot , michael , for lack of a better description when it comes to the truth. let me read what bob king , the uaw president says. he says it is tone deaf blind and without government financing and it would have led to a chapter 7 liquidation there. i mean, fast and loose with the truth, whatever you choose to call it, this guy has a credibility problem with those who see him as a flip-flopper. why dive into this pool, michael ?

>> i watched the interview this morning on morning joe when steve ratner who was at the table called in and explained all of this and it makes perfect sense to me to hear him tell it that there just were not any funding alternatives beyond the government. that's why it was necessary for the bailout as part of the managed bankruptcy and that's the part that governor romney isn't sharing with this explanation.

>> this is another portion of the op he had, a.b., from romney . it says if general motors , ford and chrysler get the bailout you can kiss the american auto industry goodbye. it won't go over night. its demise will be virtually guaranteed. let me peninsulalay what ted strik left-hand that to say. obviously he supports the president.

>> romney talked about remembering a parade that happened years before he was born. he falsely claimed that his dad marched with martin luther king . he lied about his hunting record and about the guns he didn't own. mitt romney 's hi pock increase seems to know no bounds.

>> does he need to explain this or give better clarification? we're talking abo clarifying same sex marriage and before he stands. does romney need to claim ae deserves a slap on the back.

>> it depends how much pressure he gets from inside the republican party for those who are working on his campaign and want to see him win. that could be considerable. that's why we'll see what his reaction in the coming days. it is true that i am actually remember that quote that you just read, that he said if the bailout continued, that the industry would just disappear, and that is wrong, and he will be called on that. obviously by the president in the debates in the fall and the campaign to come and advertisements, but it will be interesting to see if he has to answer that question with voters in michigan and on the ground where he is trying to campaign on that issue and by himself a little credibility on that issue as well.

>> a.b. stoddard, michael , thank you.

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