I read Romney’s 2008 editorial (nytimes.com) and it strikes me as reasonable, and not very different from what Obama actually did to save the auto industry. The editorial recommends a bankruptcy that would restructure the auto industry. I happen to agree with Romney’s position that the auto workers should make major concessions (I’ve never owned an American car in my life, and I probably never will). In the editorial, Romney mentions concessions for management as well, like reduced salaries and perks. If Romney had been president in 2009, the deal he would have crafted with Detroit would probably look a lot like what Obama actually got.

I think the real story here is how screwed up our “political discourse” is. Incredibly, the two major-party candidates for president this November will be attacking each other over the auto industry and health care, while they both did (or advocated) very similar things.

Of course, no one on the left or the right can possibly know whether a President Romney would govern like the guy who wrote that editorial in 2008, or a “humble servant” of the religious right. There will be many educated guesses between now and November, but I doubt anyone has a clue. Romney himself may not have thought about it very much.