During the debate Obama demanded we “check the record” to prove Romney never said in his NY Times op-ed that the government should provide guarantees for the automakers post-bankruptcy financing. Shockingly, that’s exactly what Romney did say.

[W]hile speaking of trade, the talk turned once again to domestic issues such as education and jobs, with Obama accusing Romney of supporting companies that shipped jobs overseas.

Romney shot back with, “I’m a son of Detroit. I was born in Detroit. My dad was head of a car company. I like American cars. And I would do nothing to hurt the US auto industry.” The candidates got into a verbal sparring match over whether Romney had called for a managed bankruptcy in Detroit or not, with Obama saying, “Let’s check the record” [he was specifically referring to this op-ed].

Via Mitt Romney’s 2008 NYT op-ed:

IF General Motors, Ford and Chrysler get the bailout that their chief executives asked for yesterday, you can kiss the American automotive industry goodbye. It won’t go overnight, but its demise will be virtually guaranteed.

Without that bailout, Detroit will need to drastically restructure itself. With it, the automakers will stay the course — the suicidal course of declining market shares, insurmountable labor and retiree burdens, technology atrophy, product inferiority and never-ending job losses. Detroit needs a turnaround, not a check. […]

But don’t ask Washington to give shareholders and bondholders a free pass — they bet on management and they lost.

The American auto industry is vital to our national interest as an employer and as a hub for manufacturing. A managed bankruptcy may be the only path to the fundamental restructuring the industry needs. It would permit the companies to shed excess labor, pension and real estate costs. The federal government should provide guarantees for post-bankruptcy financing and assure car buyers that their warranties are not at risk.

In a managed bankruptcy, the federal government would propel newly competitive and viable automakers, rather than seal their fate with a bailout check.