According to a poll posted by MLive Autos Tuesday, which sparked a lively discussion from readers, about 59 percent of poll participants said the automotive industry and/or bailout impacted the way they voted one way or another.
What do you think? How much did the auto industry and/or bailout play in this yearâs presidential election? (Courtesy image)DETROIT, MI- The 2012 presidential election is over, and President Barack Obama will remain in office.
It’s now time for political analysts and experts to examine every minute of this year’s election, including how much the automotive industry played in the presidential race.
According to a poll posted by MLive Autos Tuesday, which sparked a lively discussion from readers, about 59 percent of poll participants said the automotive industry and/or bailout impacted the way they voted one way or another.
While the poll, which received at least one vote from 34 of 50 states, was completely unscientific, it goes with what some political experts have been saying about why Republican candidate Mitt Romney lost, and Obama win.
According to Paul Steinhauser, CNN political editor, the Obama campaign continually touting the $85 billion 2008-2009 bailout of Chrysler Group LLC and General Motors Co. made a huge difference in Ohio.
“It seemed to work,” Steinhauser wrote in a blog post Wednesday morning. “Nearly six in 10 Ohio voters said they approved of the federal government's role in helping the troubled domestic automakers, and according to exit polls, the president won three quarters of those voters.”
No Republican presidential candidate has won the presidency without carrying Ohio.
Between the two campaigns, the race to condemn each other regarding the auto bailout of the two automakers started years ago with Romney’s Nov. 18, 2008 New York Times opinion editorial, titled“Let Detroit Go Bankrupt.”
In the op-ed, which Romney did not write the headline for, the Michigan native said is the companies received money, “you can kiss the American automotive industry goodbye.”
The Obama campaign, which was heavily-backed by United Auto Workers President Bob King, used the op-ed, as well as a half-dozen of other auto-related statements from Romney, to the president's advantage.
A New York Times editorial published Wednesday said Obama's victory "depended heavily on Midwestern Rust Belt states like Ohio, where the bailout of the auto industry — which Mr. Obama engineered and Mr. Romney opposed — proved widely popular for the simple reason that it worked."
Romney's opposition to the bailout, according to New York Magazine's Peter Keating, also didn't go over too well in Michigan.
"This is tough ground for Romney," he wrote. "His opposition to the auto bailout has crushed him in Michigan."
What do you think? How much did the auto industry and/or bailout play in this year’s presidential election?
Email Michael Wayland: MWayland@mlive.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/MikeWayland