Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney defended his opposition of the $85 billion auto rescue by two presidents, saying he supported a "private sector bailout." Romney, a Detroit native who grew up in southeast Michigan and is the son of a former CEO of American Motors, defended his stance that he insisted General Motors and Chrysler Group LLC file for bankruptcy first before getting government bailouts during Wednesday night's debate at Oakland University.
Then-President George W. Bush gave GM and Chrysler and their finance arms a $25 billion bailout in the closing weeks of his administration. President Barack Obama added $60 billion to the bailout and put GM and Chrysler through 40-day bankruptcy restructuring.
"Whether it was by President Bush or President Obama, it was the wrong way to go," Romney said. "They gave General Motors to the UAW, and they gave Chrysler to Fiat."
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