Automobiles

A former adviser to President Obama outlined a plan this week to parry Republican attacks on the White House over rising gas prices.

Ron Klain, Vice President Biden’s former chief of staff and a former Obama adviser, floated the idea of an additional 1 percent payroll tax cut if gas prices go above $4 a gallon.

“[T]he White House should act boldly, and move immediately to cope with the problem before it becomes politically red hot,” Klain said Monday in his Bloomberg View column, referring to rising gas prices.

Under the proposal, which Klain called a “pocketbook protection” plan, consumers could receive as much as $50 per month. The plan would cost about $5 billion a month, which Klain called a “relatively modest” price tag.

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Republicans hope to pivot the national debate to energy, where they believe they can hammer the Obama administration.

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A new poll shows more GOP Michigan voters are likely to support a candidate who opposed the auto bailouts.

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The Democratic National Committee is using General Motor's announcement of a record $7.6 billion profit to hit Mitt Romney, who has criticized the bailout of GM and Chrysler. 

"Thanks to the sacrifice and determination of workers and management, and the faith of the president who bet on them, GM and Chrysler are back," on-screen text reads. "American taxpayers are being repaid. Instead of going under, automakers are adding plants, shifts, and jobs."

Video of Romney decrying the bailout is then spliced between autoworkers skeptical that a nongovernment entity could have helped the industry in the same way. The ad concludes with President Obama arguing the "lesson" of the auto bailout was not to "bet against America. Don't bet against the American auto industry. Don't bet against American ingenuity. Don't bet against the American worker. Don't bet against us."

The attack comes a little more than a week before the Michigan primary. Romney is struggling in Michigan, where his father served as a popular governor. A Detroit News poll this week showed Rick Santorum holding a 4 percentage point lead over Romney. 

Romney has argued against the bailout, stating that the U.S. comapnies wouldhave been better served by a managed bankruptcy that would have not cost taxpayer dollars. 

"Instead of the free market doing what it does best, we got a major taste of crony capitalism," Romney wrote in the Detroit News Tuesday.

Democrats are seizing on the auto industry's recovery to paint Romney as out-of-touch and having "bet against America."

In the video, a montage of news clips heralds the recovery as a positive step forward for the economy.

Romney was campaigning in Michigan Thursday.

The government still owns GM shares and has not recovered all of the nearly $50 billion it initially pumped into GM.

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The United Auto Workers has endorsed Rep. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) in his primary battle against Rep. Hansen Clark (D-Mich.).

Peters's district was dismantled when Michigan redrew its congressional maps, forcing Peters to square off against a fellow incumbent if he wanted a chance to keep his seat in the House.

Peters and Clark will face each other in an Aug. 7 primary.

The backing of the union, a major player in Michigan Democratic politics, will likely help Peters make his case to blue-collar voters, and follows other endorsements including those from about a dozen other state and local unions.

"Gary Peters has shown tremendous leadership and courage by leading the fight for the automotive industry, including his work to secure the auto loans which saved over a million American automotive jobs,” said Chuck Hall, who directs the union's Detroit-area branch.

Your morning transportation speed-read:

Airlines had a good year in terms of on-time flights, handling bags and bumping passengers, according to statistics released by the Department of Transportation.

Japanese automaker Toyota is selling its autos to rental-car companies now.

Car sales are down for the beginning of the year.

The National Transportation Safety Board has released its report about a freight rail crash in Illinois.

Your morning transportation speed-read:

Actress Gabrielle Union's hair was patted down by the Transportation Security Administration.

Southwest Airlines has launched service to Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport.

The most expensive 2012 model year car to insure is an Audi R8 Spyder Quattro, a new study finds.

Nissan is recalling 39,000 of its Versa cars.

Mitt Romney is defending his opposition to the bailout of General Motors and Chrysler with a new op-ed.

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NBC's Saturday Night Live show offered a spoof of the controversial Chrysler Super Bowl "It's Halftime, America" commercial over the weekend, featuring a faux Clint Eastwood declaring "the game is over, America.

"It ended 2 hours ago," the Eastwood character says in the commercial. "While you were b----ing about my commercial, we lost to Mexico by 30 points." 

In the original commercial, which ignited a firestorm as some conservatives argued it was an endorsement of President Obama, Eastwood says “it’s halftime, America, and our second half is about to begin."

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