Romney is an idiot.
First, he claims he objects to auto “bailouts”.
Then, he supports financial institution bailouts.
Finally, he claims the auto industry, which did get bailouts, was his brainchild, and that their recovery is to his credit.
He is a terribly confused man.
I actually don’t think he’s confused on this. What he called for was a managed bankruptcy with government support that would have allowed the auto industry to get out from under some of their debts and allow them to achieve profitability again. He was arguing against giving them a straight-up bailout, which was what they were asking for at the time. What ultimately happened? They got a bailout, but they got what amounted to a managed bankruptcy in which some of their biggest creditors and bondholders got next to nothing for their investments. Obama went too far, giving up way too much to the unions, but essentially these companies got the benefit of a bankruptcy without court intervention, with the decisions made instead by a politician.