During his weekly Saturday Internet and radio address, President Barack Obama gave himself praise for his decision to help bail out the U.S. automobile industry early during his White House administration. He told listeners that now the industry is one of the leading job creators in the country.

Obama said that today sales of autos in the United States are at the highest point that they have been at in over four years. He said, General Motors has returned and both Chrysler and Ford are once again growing. Across the industry, over 250,000 jobs have been created in the U.S.

The president bailed out the industry back in January of 2009, when the three major auto companies in the U.S. Chrysler, Ford and GM all were close to filing bankruptcy. The three big automakers were pleading with the federal government to assist them with over $34 billion.

The White House administration had just taken the reins from the outgoing Bush administration and used close to $25 billion of the close to $700 billion bailout package for banks to lend to Chrysler and GM. Ford did not take any assistance from the government.

In return for receiving financial assistance, the auto companies pledged to consolidate their operations and increase development of vehicles that are energy-efficient. Obama told his Internet and radio audience that it was a success story that everyone in America should be and could be proud of.

Obama said the auto industry returned strongly following the financial crisis and said the rest of America will do the same if he remains president.