Ex-basher Lutz does a flip-flop on Romney: 'All is forgiven'

So does the federal bailout of General Motors and Chrysler ensure that Barack Obama will carry Michigan in November?

Well, at least one high-profile Michigan auto guy -- who vociferously blasted Mitt Romney for opposing the bailout -- has made peace with the presumed GOP nominee.

"All is forgiven," said Bob Lutz, the ex-GM vice chairman who has long flaunted his conservative views.

On CNBC's "The Kudlow Report" last week, Lutz proclaimed himself a Romney man -- even though Romney wrote a New York Times opinion piece in 2008 under the headline "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt."

Back then, Lutz eviscerated Romney for having done that, and he defended the rescue of GM and Chrysler as a "necessary government intervention." In February, he said of Romney: "He thinks we didn't try to borrow money from the banks. The banks were even more broke than we were. Who had the money?"

But last week Lutz said Romney "has since modified his stand on that."

Romney says now that he always favored the kind of managed bankruptcy GM and Chrysler ultimately submitted to, and Lutz apparently is OK with that. And Lutz added that part of picking a candidate "depends who his opponent is."