UPDATE: Via Michelle Malkin: The columnist quoted below is standing by his original story that Ford was pressured into pulling the ad. [Contact information for the columnist was removed here out of courtesy.]
From: Wayne A
Sent: Tuesday, September 27, 2011 01:56 PM
To: Howes, Daniel
Subject: Ford ad article
FYI Ford says via its FB presence that they have not pulled the ad; that it simply is currently out of rotation.Response:
Subject: Re: Ford ad article
Date: Tue, 27 Sep 2011 14:21:57 -0400
From: Howes, Daniel
To:
Not true. Just had lunch w/ company VP who confirms my column. Thanks for the note.
– DCH
Daniel Howes
Business Columnist
The Detroit News
W: +1.313.xxxxxxxx
M: +1.313.xxxxxxxx
E: xxxxxx@detnews.com
Sent via BlackBerry
This does raise some speculation that, given the UAW’s heated negotiations with Ford, there could be other factors at play here.
Original Post:
Earlier, a mini-storm errupted on the internet over an allegation that the White House pressured Ford to pull an ad that was critical of the Government Motors and Chrysler bailouts.
The mini-storm stems from Detroit News columnist Daniel Howes’ assertion that the White House pushed the kill switch on the Ford ad:
As part of a campaign featuring “real people” explaining their decision to buy the Blue Oval, a guy named “Chris” says he “wasn’t going to buy another car that was bailed out by our government,” according the text of the ad, launched in early September.
“I was going to buy from a manufacturer that’s standing on their own: win, lose, or draw. That’s what America is about is taking the chance to succeed and understanding when you fail that you gotta’ pick yourself up and go back to work.”
That’s what some of America is about, evidently. Because Ford pulled the ad after individuals inside the White House questioned whether the copy was publicly denigrating the controversial bailout policy CEO Alan Mulally repeatedly supported in the dark days of late 2008, in early ’09 and again when the ad flap arose. And more.
‘Chris,’ the individual in the ad even took to the airwaves in a really good radio interview to discuss it the pulling of the ad, as well as the auto bailouts in general.
Problem is, however, it might have all been a false report. According to a response posted by Ford on Facebook, the ad was taken out of circulation after four weeks.
Well, if it was pulled out of the rotation, as Ford says, it is still on the internet (for now)…
Let’s see, pressure from the White House to withdraw the ad that was unflattering to this administration, then pressure from the White House to publically say that there was no pressure from the White House to withdraw the unflattering ad – SOUNDS ABOUT RIGHT FROM THIS DICTATORSHIP!
OBAMA SHOULD BE IMPEACHED FOR USURPING OUR COUNTRY AND EVERY MEMBER OF CONGRESS SHOULD ALSO BE IMPEACHED FOR ALLOWING THIS TO HAPPEN TO AMERICA!
You have no idea what a dictatorship is. The President was ELECTED in a democratic election. That is hardly usurping power. If he was really a dictator, would there have been a fight over rescinding the Bush tax cuts? What about the absolutely stupid fight over the debt ceiling? Or the one over disaster relief? Seriously, I invite you to find a real dictatorship & check it out for awhile. Still plenty of them left in the world.