Barack Obama's re-election campaign released on Thursday a new television ad that will air in Michigan and highlight the president's handling of and support for the auto bailout.
The 30-second commercial, called “Made in America,” seems designed for dual purposes: to protect the administration from attacks being leveled by the Republican candidates currently campaigning in Michigan, in advance of the primary there, and to needle Mitt Romney over his opposition to the bailout. The ad mentions Romney’s infamous New York Times op-ed “Let Detroit Go Bankrupt.”
“When a million jobs were on the line, every Republican candidate turned their back, even said, 'Let Detroit go Bankrupt,'" the ad's narrator declares.
This is the third ad that Obama's re-election campaign has aired to date, but only the second one of real consequence. The campaign previously dropped one million dollars on a multi-state ad campaign that touted the president's record on energy policy. That spot, too, was in response to Republican attacks -- in that case, over his administration's support for failed solar energy company Solyndra.
UPDATE: 12:15 p.m. -- NBC News reports that the Obama campaign is spending just $43,000 on the new TV ad in Michigan. The spot will air from the Feb. 24 to Feb. 27.