Super Bowl auto ad crashes into politics

The White House and Obama re- election campaign had no role in Chrysler’s “Halftime in America” Super Bowl ad, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t applauding on Monday.

The ad, versions of which appeared in USA TODAY and other print and online media, featured Clint Eastwood lauding the auto industry’s comeback in patriotic terms. That’s just what the Obama administration has done since billions in federal government loans and mandates helped Chrysler and General Motors recover from financial crisis.

But corporate- political collusion on the part of Chrysler and the White House? Both quickly denied it.

“It had zero political content,” Chrysler Group Chairman and CEO Sergio Marchionne said about the ad on a Detroit talk radio program. “God knows, I can’t stop anybody from associating themselves with the message. But it was not intended to be any type of political overture on our part.”

White House press secretary Jay Carney said the administration and election campaign were not involved. “It was news to me when I saw it,” he said, adding that Chrysler simply “wants to sell more cars.”

Even so, he said, Obama deserves some credit. “It does point out a simple fact, which is that the automobile industry in this country was on its back and potentially poised to liquidate three years ago, and this president made decisions that were not very popular at the time,” Carney said.

Karl Rove, former top political aide to President George W. Bush, said on Fox News that the Obama administration’s actions were tantamount to “using our tax dollars to buy corporate advertising.”

Eastwood, a libertarian and former mayor of Carmel, Calif., told Fox: “I am certainly not politically affiliated with Mr. Obama. It was meant to be a message just about job growth and the spirit of America.”