[TheRealVille]

I am a big Clint Eastwood fan but IMO, he was the voice of a subtle Obama campaign ad, which was paid for by an Italian company using our own tax dollars. Chrysler is no longer an American company because the Obama administration insisted that Chrysler accept Fiat's offer to buy a controlling interest in the company. Members of Obama's inner circle enthusiastically approved of the ad, and I think that they have good reasons to do so.

Chrysler Group LLC's U.S. dealers swung into action on Wednesday to rebut complaints that the auto maker's emotional Super Bowl ad provided support to President Obama's re-election campaign.

"We have no doubt that this ad had no political agenda of any kind but rather [was] a statement of fact and hope for the future for all of us and America," the company's National Dealer Council said following an emergency meeting.

The single airing of the auto maker's "Halftime in America" two-minute commercial on Sunday during the Super Bowl sparked debate from living rooms to dealerships across the country. The controversy boosted viewership with more than five million people viewing the ad on YouTube.

Oliver Francois, Chrysler's chief marketing officer and architect of the ad, said he finds the controversy perplexing. "It was designed to deliver emotions and I don't think emotions have a party. There was zero political message. It was meant more of a rally cry to get together and what makes us strong is our collective power and not our individual disagreements."

At issue is whether the ad's intent was to sell cars or to help President Barack Obama in this fall's presidential campaign. His administration provided bailout funding and ushered Chrysler and rival General Motors Co. through a quick bankruptcy protection process in 2009.

"To say it was a political favor is bull hockey," said Valdosta, Ga., dealer Cass Burch, who owns two Chrysler stores. "That comment makes me want to fistfight somebody. Here I was overwhelmed with emotion and pride…It is bush league for them to take something that is so heroic and so patriotic about our company and to make it political."

In the spot actor Clint Eastwood intones: "Seems that we've have lost our hearts at times. The fog of division, discord and blame, made it hard to see what lies ahead but after those trials we all rallied around what was right and acted as one. Because that is what we do. We find a way through tough times and if we can't find a way then we'll make one. All that matters now is what's ahead. How do we come from behind? How do we come together and how do we win?"

The following day, the advertisement became fodder for talk shows after Republican commentator Karl Rove told Fox News he was offended by the commercial. He described it as "a sign of what happens when you have Chicago-style politics and the President of the United States and his political minions are in essence using our tax dollars to buy corporate advertising."

David Axelrod, Obama's campaign manager and Dan Pfeiffer, the White House communication director, praised the spot in tweets they posted to Twitter. Their reaction fueled complaints the ad touts the Detroit bailout ahead of the fall presidential election. The White House has said it wasn't involved in the ad.

So far, the firestorm has had little effect on the Chrysler brand or on its sales, according to dealers and research companies that track consumer sentiment by monitoring social media websites, blogs, news websites and message boards.

Zeta Interactive, a New York-based marketing firm that mines 200 million different blogs and social media sites, said the buzz around Chrysler's ad has been 83% positive. Collective Intellect, a tracking firm in Boulder, Colorado, said its research shows that since the spot aired, consumers' affinity and favor of the Chrysler brand has increased.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424...lenews_wsj