The recent elections in Mexico are under a cloud of controversy due to accusations and video evidence the winning candidate gave out prepaid credit cards in exchange for votes. While that direct exchange would be illegal, it is not very different than what President Obama did when he intervened in the bankruptcy of General Motors and Chrysler breaking the law to pay off union supporters ahead of legally senior claims of bondholders. Now President Obama visits his beneficiaries to seek a return on his illegal a massive money-losing payments:
President Barack Obama’s bus trip on Thursday through northern Ohio was taking him to four areas with big auto plants as he defends his decision to rescue U.S. automakers. His first stop was the Toledo suburb of Maumee, where hundreds of supporters, including several wearing UAW T-shirts, waited two hours on a muggy morning for his arrival.
His second stop will be at an ice cream social in Sandusky, Ohio, followed by campaign remarks in Parma at 7:15 p.m. “The best thing he ever could have done was save the auto industry,” said William Harris of Holland, a worker for a Chrysler engine plant in Detroit for 36 years before retiring.
Linda Schneider of Maumee said she was unemployed four years ago before getting a human resources job with a Toledo-area auto parts company. “This is an auto region,” she said. “We need (the industry) to survive.”
Unlike the politicians, not every attendee was monolithic in their focus on the bailou
Ohio residents waiting to enter the event agreed the auto industry is key for the area but had varying opinions on the political impact of the auto bailout. Thomas Hutton, a retired pharmacist from Toledo, said the auto industry is important but he didn’t think it would be a defining issue for the presidential campaign. “It’s a side issue,” he said. “The big ones are the economy and heath care.” Army retiree Glenn Shields said preserving jobs is good but he thinks the auto companies should’ve recognized their problems sooner. He said the auto bailout will be an important issue in November. “It’s going to be a major factor,” said the 69-year-old. “The big issue will be the growing debt related to the bailout.”
