In the second presidential debate of the 2012 election, President Barack Obama and Republican candidate Mitt Romney got a little more in depth about their beliefs towards the auto industry.
One of the first topics discussed at Hofstra University in New York was the state of the economy and the unemployment crisis in the U.S. Not surprisingly, it was Romney who first brought up his beliefs on the bailout money Obama gave to auto companies the past four years.
Romney attempted to make Obama's decision to allow $80 billion to go towards bailing out auto companies like General Motors and Chrysler as a sign of weakness. He also tried backing out of his now famous "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt" quote as well.
Romney is now claiming what he meant by that statement was he would force the auto companies that Obama bailed out go bankrupt to help get them back on track the same way Continental Airlines and Macy's did after going bankrupt.
Click here to see then entire transcript from the Presidential Debate.
In response to those who criticized him for saying he would let Detroit go bankrupt, Romney tried scolding Obama for already doing so.
"Well, Mr. President, you took Detroit bankrupt," Romney said. "You took GM bankrupt. You took Chrysler bankrupt. So when you say that I wanted to take the auto industry bankrupt, you actually did."
Romney seemed to have no clear cut plan for what he would have done to help those companies rise after actually going bankrupt. Essentially what he said during the debate was that failing auto companies should go bankrupt to see which ones can bounce back from it to make a more competitive market.
Romney failed to mention though that most companies that received federal bailouts have been able to succeed thanks to Obama. Most of them would not have been able to bounce back on their own, and despite his "love" for American cars, essentially under Romney's unclear plan there wouldn't be many auto companies left in the U.S.
Obama, who clearly won round two of the debates, carefully explained how important it was to assist those auto companies in need of help.
He also explained that companies all across the country need help and if elected he plans to focus on continuing to help the auto industry while also giving incentives to companies that invest and help create jobs in the U.S.
"Now when Governor Romney said we should let Detroit go bankrupt, I said we're going to bet on American workers and the American auto industry, and it's come surging back," Obama said during the debates.
The next debate will take place on October 22 in Denver, CO.
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