Portman disputes Obama on auto plan

CINCINNATI (AP) - Ohio's Republican senator says President Barack Obama is distorting Republican Mitt Romney's position on the auto industry bailout, a key issue in the pivotal state.

Sen. Rob Portman says Obama's comments have been "reckless and irresponsible." He particularly objected to Obama's speech in Dayton, Ohio, on Tuesday in which the president said there might not still be an American auto industry if Romney had been president.

Portman told Romney volunteers Wednesday at a campaign office in southwest Ohio that Obama isn't telling the truth with such comments.

While Romney supported a managed bankruptcy, Portman said Obama chose what the senator called "a political bankruptcy" with the government making decisions.

Obama and Vice President Joe Biden have repeatedly highlighted the auto industry bailout while campaigning in Ohio, an auto-making state.