Why didn’t prez join in the rollout?

The titular head of General Motors Co., the president of the United States, missed a red, white and blue opportunity to thumb his nose (figuratively, of course) at the critics of his decision to save the ailing American auto industry.

President Barack Obama would have received national and international media coverage had he shown up at GM’s Lordstown assembly plant for the official start of production of the Cruze. The first three cars seen by the public were red, white and blue.

How significant was the event? Consider the words of Mark Reuss, president of GM North America: “I can’t shake the feeling that the rebirth of the American economy starts right here in Lordstown. The Cruze is the key to our future, and the effects will reverberate through the company, the country and the economy.”

The words were music to Democrats’ ears. With their political fortunes dwindling, they needed to show the country that one of the major initiatives of the Obama administration is a huge success. Polls indicate the Democratic Party will lose control of the U.S. House of Representatives, will give up seats in the Senate, and could lose the Ohio governorship and other statewide offices.

The Cruze, along with GM’s financial recovery, is proof of the success. The president should have been on hand, not only to take a bow, but to prop up Gov. Ted Strickland and other Democrats who are struggling to prove the polls wrong.

Cleveland stop

It wasn’t as though Obama would have had to make a special trip to Ohio. He was scheduled to appear Wednesday afternoon in Cleveland to talk about the economy. A stop in the Mahoning Valley could easily have been arranged by the White House. It could have been staged managed, as most of his public appearances seem to be. Indeed, in his two visits to the Valley since becoming president in January 2009, Obama appeared before appreciative audiences.

To be sure, it would have been a logistical nightmare for the president to participate in the public event — it was open to everyone — but he could have joined the Lordstown plant’s labor leaders, managers, Strickland, Reuss and even a cross-section of plant employees in a private setting, which would have enabled the White House to manage the appearance.

The open-air event would have been a challenge for the president’s secret service and law enforcement details. It also carried political risk. Any booing or other acts of disrespect from the crowd would have made headlines.

Indeed, even though Obama’s decision to bailout the auto industry — GM and Chrysler took billions in taxpayer dollars to enable them to reorganize — has saved thousands of jobs and the pensions of hundreds of thousands of retired auto workers, there is no guarantee Democrats will be rewarded with votes in November.

Gratitude from those who have benefitted from the auto industry being saved, the economic stimulus program and even the health care reform initiative should be a given. But it isn’t, which is why the president and his party are facing devastating losses in the general election.

Obama’s appearance at the Cruze’s production kickoff would have had a greater impact than his speech in Cleveland.

It would have forced Republicans to either admit — no doubt grudgingly — that Lordstown is a success story, or to argue that the demise of GM and Chrysler should have occurred. It would have resulted in the Mahoning Valley losing a major employer.

Obama’s speech in Cleveland was featured on National Public Radio’s morning news broadcast on Thursday, but story certainly didn’t do Democrats any favors. The reporter conducted interviews with employees of a restaurant chain who were playing softball at a field across from the Cuyahoga Community College campus where Obama spoke.

Worried workers

The gist of the comments: Even though the restaurant workers have jobs, they’re not pleased with the way things are going and are worried about the future.

Had the president come to the Valley for the rollout of the Cruze, he could also have pointed to the $650 million being invested by Vallourec, a French company, in a state-of-the-art steel mill being built adjacent to its V&M Star steel making facility.

Now there’s a story worth retelling.