New Emails: Obama officials worried about Solyndra Inc. default hurting Obama's re-election chances

Eight months after President Obama visited Solyndra Inc. to tout green jobs, emails were flying about the damage a Solyndra Inc. default would have on Obama's re-election campaign in 2012.

WASHINGTON (AP) — White House officials discussed the political ramifications of a possible default by a troubled solar energy company that received more than $500 million in federal loans, newly released emails show.

Emails released Thursday night show that Obama administration privately worried about the effect of a default by Solyndra Inc. on the president's re-election campaign.

"The optics of a Solyndra default will be bad," an official from the Office of Management and Budget wrote in a Jan. 31 email to a senior OMB official. "The timing will likely coincide with the 2012 campaign season heating up."

Pr. Obama at Solyndra (1) California Solar Plant


Part 2 of Obama's Solyndra speech is here.