Truth in Politics - right up there with Unicorns and alt.energy

Damn near spewed a mouthful of nice Zin over my keyboard. Two articles. First -- from Daniel Halper writing at The Weekly Standard:

Clinton: Obama's Feelings Most Hurt Over Jeep Ad
"I saw the reports of Governor Romney's latest ad saying that the president had allowed Jeep to move to China," said Clinton. "And so this morning, before he left Florida and went back to Washington, he said, 'You know, of all the things Governor Romney has said that probably hurts my feelings the most.' He said, 'You know, I never had any money when I was a kid. and the first new car I ever owned I was 30 years old it was a Jeep.'"

As an aside, it's Interesting that, according an old USA Today report, Obama's first (used) car was a Ford Granada.

Like many men, President Obama has fond memories of his first car -- even if it was a Ford Granada.

"I have to confess; my first car was my grandfather's car," Obama told AAA in an interview. "Which was a Ford Granada."

Then, it appears, Obama owned a red Fiat. �Before returning to Hawaii, Stan bought his grandson a present: a beat-up old red Fiat that they found at a Los Angeles used car lot,� writes David Maraniss in Barack Obama: The Story.

Then, Maraniss details Obama had a Honda Civic. �Before leaving New York, Obama spent two thousand dollars on a blue Honda Civic that he would drive into the heartland to start his new life.�

And then a Nissan Datsun. �The old blue Honda Civic was gone; he had sold it before departing for Europe and Africa. Now he had another car, a used yellow Datsun that cost five hundred dollars.�

Obama's first new car was a Jeep Grand Cherokee, but was 39 years old when he bought the 2000 model, not 30, as Clinton stated earlier today.

Second -- from Tommaso Ebhardt writing at Bloomberg\Businessweek:

Marchionne Seen Missing Fiat Sales Target by $19 Billion
Fiat SpA (F) Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne set a target two and a half years ago to sell 6 million cars annually by 2014, a goal that analysts and industry observers at the time deemed impossible to achieve. They were right.

Marchionne, who runs both the Italian automaker and Chrysler Group LLC, has said he will revise his forecasts when the two companies announce third-quarter results tomorrow. Analysts estimate his sales target will need to come down by 15 billion euros ($19 billion).

�Marchionne was too optimistic in 2010,� said Giuseppe Berta, a professor at Bocconi University in Milan who has written several books on Fiat and has worked as a company historian. �Fiat and Chrysler can�t grow by self-propulsion to the famous 6 million-car target.�

And the money quote:

To counter the severe slump in European sales, Marchionne is considering building Chrysler models in Italy, including Jeeps, for export to North America. The Italian government is evaluating tax rebates on export goods to help Fiat. Marchionne may announce details of his plan as soon as Oct. 30, the people said.

OK - Romney's advertisement: "suggesting Jeep might move some of its production facilities overseas" The reality: "Fiat is considering moving Jeep production to Italy" Romney called him on it had he is denying it. UPDATE: More information coming out. Romney's stump speech and advertisement was absolutely correct. Fiat is talking with people in Guangzhou, China to build a manufacturing plant and one of the marques discussed is Jeep. More in a day or two.