Romney blasts Obama in Ohio over auto industry bailout
Republican tries to take his campaign up a gear with new TV advert, but is pilloried by Obama team for false allegation about losing jobs to China
Mitt Romney has blasted Barack Obama over the US car industry bailout in a new campaign advert and blamed him for sending car companies into bankruptcy.
The attack is being seen as a sign of continued concern over the political impact of the Republican presidential candidate's opposition to the bailout.
Romney also falsely implies in the advert that the president's actions prompted Chrysler to send jobs to China.
Thousands of jobs in the upper Midwest were tied to the carmakers' bailout - US$80 billion in federal loans to General Motors and Chrysler - that many credit for saving the industry.
For months Obama has hammered Romney for his opposition to the bailout.
But the new advert being aired by Romney says Obama caused Jeep's parent company - Chrysler - to be sold to an Italian company that plans to move production overseas. While it is true that Chrysler may produce Jeeps in China under its Fiat owners, that represents an expansion targeting Chinese buyers. No American jobs will be lost.
