Remember Obama’s speech in Detroit, where he said “the age of oil must end”?

It was arguably brave, or unwise, to go to the Motor City and rip U.S. automakers, before an audience of their executives and within earshot of automotive company unions. However, it looks like the Clintons might be getting ready to make Obama pay for it:

Clinton’s June 9 engagement with national AFL-CIO officials in Detroit and two planned visits to the state by her husband, former President Bill Clinton, come amid speculation she may seek to distance herself from fellow Sen. Barak Obama on auto-related issues.
The Illinois senator’s comments on the auto industry at a May speech to the Detroit Economic Club disappointed many Michigan Democrats, and Hillary Clinton may be able to capitalize on that.
“Many people believe that speech said he doesn’t care about Michigan,” said Debbie Dingell, a key player in state politics [wife of Rep. John Dingell, D-Dearborn]…
“I called him the day after” the speech, said Mark Gaffney, director of Michigan’s AFL-CIO. Gaffney said he spoke to an Obama campaign official, urging the candidate to re-examine the issue.

Defending Detroit might cost Clinton some votes among environmentalists. But somehow I suspect whacking around her most prominent challenger for not understanding a key industry in the U.S. economy will be too tempting for the Clintons to resist…