New wave of Toyota bashing is unfortunate.(General Motors Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp. at North American International Auto Show)(Column)

General Motors garnered tons of favorable publicity last week during media days at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. GM masterfully projected itself as a resurgent automaker determined to be a survivor and a winner. But sprinkled among the upbeat headlines and sound bites about products and technology were troubling comments by GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz that smacked of latent protectionism.

Lutz was quoted in national media as saying that Toyota has more clout in Washington than GM, something he attributed to the Japanese automaker's spending more and lobbying better.

"One of the sad things is, Toyota is so profitable and has plants in so many states that, frankly, they've got more congressmen and senators than General Motors does,'' Lutz was quoted as saying.

Unless Toyota is keeping GM from getting something it wants or unless Toyota is getting something GM can't get, it is preposterous to suggest that Toyota has more clout. Both automakers are members of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and lobby together on most substantive industry issues.

Even if it's true, it is outrageous to blame Toyota for being successful. Regrettably, that's the kind of we-wuz-robbed mentality that could prompt a backlash of protectionism against Toyota.

That attitude is particularly troublesome now, just as Toyota seems poised to topple GM as the No. 1 global automaker and as the political winds shift in Washington. With Democrats in control of Congress and so many of the troubled Detroit 3's factories in blue states - while transplant factories tend to land in red states - some demagogues might call for a new wave of protectionist legislation. But that would be tragically wrong.

The industry and the nation will be better served if Congress and the Bush White House buckle down and work to resolve nagging issues such as health care and economic security.

GM must earn its revitalized image the old-fashioned way - by delighting and satisfying customers with good products, not by blaming Toyota for being successful.