It’s not just the Republican presidential candidates who have really begun rolling out 2012 web videos: The Democratic National Committee has released its second ad since Monday. This time — rather than an attack ad — the DNC defended the government’s unpopular bailout of the auto industry and went after three Republican candidates over their tough-love approach to the issue.
After featuring clips of Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty coming out against the government’s bailout of General Motors, the ad quickly defends the U.S. Treasury’s $50 billion, majority (61 percent) ownership, with a banner reading:
While Republicans and pundits disagreed …
President Obama made the tough choice to grant American automakers a lifesaving loan.
News clips follow, saying that GM repaid its loan, added 4,000 American jobs and invested $2 billion into the economy. Sunday was the first day the Treasury could begin selling the rest of its 500 million shares, and so far it’s recouped $23 billion of the original investment. The Government Accountability Office’s sobering analysis, however, foresees the publicly traded stocks floating listlessly as the economy continues to slag along.
Apart from focusing on prospective issues like the immigration debate, “Obama has already made it clear he will use the automotive rescue, begun under President George W. Bush in 2008, as one of the central pillars of his reelection campaign, especially in the critical battlegrounds of the Midwest,” according to Politico.
The DNC’s ad is the first major video to reflect that campaign ambition. On Monday, the DNC targeted Pawlenty who, on Sunday, released a video announcing his planned announcement the following day in person at campaign stop in Iowa.
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