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Home > Blogs > Ohio politics > Archives > 2008 > August > 06
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Eye On Ohio: Obama’s ‘Pocket’ ad
The ad: “Pocket,” 30 seconds.
Producer: Obama for America.
Where to see it: It’s airing in several key states, including Ohio. View it at DaytonDailyNews.com/eyeonohio.
Script: Announcer: “Every time you fill your tank, the oil companies fill their pockets. Now Big Oil’s filling John McCain’s campaign with $2 million in contributions because, instead of taxing their windfall profits to help drivers, McCain wants to give them another $4 billion in tax breaks. “After one president in the pocket of Big Oil, we can’t afford another. “Barack Obama: A windfall profits tax on Big Oil to give families $1,000 rebate. A president who will stand up for you. Obama: “I’m Barack Obama and I approve this message.”
Video: The video begins with shots of people filling their tanks at gas stations, then cuts to McCain. Then it’s back to shots of high gas prices, lines of traffic and McCain. Grim, serious music plays behind a grave-sounding commentator. Over these shots is text: $143 billion in profits over the last year, $2 million in oil contributions, $4 billion new tax breaks for oil, all citing sources in smaller text below.
Then it’s a shot of President Bush which slides over to reveal McCain, standing next to him. The ad then cuts to Barack Obama talking to a rally, a crowd of people, individuals in a restaurant booth, then standing before a big, placard-wielding crowd. There’s text here, too: $1,000 energy rebate and NewEnergyForAmerica.com, a site that highlights Obama’s energy plan.
Analysis: Once again, the presidential debate parallels the congressional debate: Republicans say that Democrats are too worried about hugging trees to drill for new sources of oil, and Democrats counter that Republicans are in the pockets of oil companies and that’s why they want to drill.
This ad, timed to coincide with the release of Obama’s New Energy for America Plan, which would give middle-class families a $1,000 rebate funded by a windfall profits tax on oil companies, highlights the latter argument and also throws in a visual dig reiterating their argument that a vote for McCain is actually a vote for a third Bush term.
If we’re going to be picky, McCain didn’t actually receive $2 million from oil companies — companies themselves are barred from contributing directly to a candidate. Rather, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, McCain has received $1.3 million from individuals who represent or work for oil or gas companies or political action committees that represent them. (He got the most money from retirees, according to the center: more than $18 million.)
The center, in a fact sheet on its Web site, said that Obama’s campaign appears to have added its $1.3 million figure with one from a Washington Post story reporting the amount of oil and gas money given to a separate fundraising organization that is giving money to McCain, the Republican National Committee and various state parties, to get the $2 million figure.
“The Obama campaign’s method for calculating the total amount that McCain’s campaign has collected from the oil and gas industry may result in some double-counting,” according to the center.
Oil and gas didn’t make Obama’s top 20, according to the center. Still, oil and gas interests gave Obama $394,465.
McCain’s campaign also retorts that Obama voted for a 2005 energy bill that included billions for oil and gas production. McCain voted against that bill. An Obama spokesman told the Associated Press that the Illinois Democrat voted for the bill because it invested in renewable energy.
Obama’s claim that McCain wants to cut taxes for oil companies by $4 billion also doesn’t tell the whole story. McCain actually has proposed cutting the tax rate on all U.S. businesses — including oil and gas companies — from 25 to 35 percent.
Jessica Wehrman is the Dayton Daily News Washington correspondent. E-mail: jwehrman@coxnews.com.
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Butler County Sheriff Jones to “greet” McCain
Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones doesn’t think much of fellow Republican John McCain’s views on immigration and McCain will find that out on Thursday morning, Aug. 7. McCain is expected in Butler County for a fundraiser.
Jones told the Dayton Daily News on Wednesday, Aug. 6, that he is running a half page ad in the Cincinnati Enquirer on both Thursday and Saturday, Aug. 9, with this script:
“Sen. McCain Why haven’t we heard from you on immigration?
Are you avoiding this American issue???
We are all EARS”
Jones, who has gained a national reputation with his efforts to crack down on illegal immigration, said McCain has avoided the issue and is alienating his conservative base.
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Payday loan with your bus ride? Ummm…maybe not.
Officials at the Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority have been brainstorming ideas to raise revenues as they continue to cope with rising costs and flat sales tax revenues.
The ideas are all over the map: from more traditional ones like lobbying for more federal funding or increasing advertising sales, to some that are less traditional. Among them: provide indoor rental storage, become the downtown Dayton parking authority, offer grocery delivery services or become the Greyhound agent for Dayton.
RTA officials have already scuttled one of those “non-traditional” bright ideas: open a payday loan service.
Those hugely controversial, high-interest loan companies typically charge a 391 percent interest rate on a two week loan. After first opening the door to the industry in 1995, the Ohio Legislature this year put the clamps on because of widespread outrage over what some called a “debt trap.”
Starting Sept. 1, payday loans will be limited to a 28 percent annual interest rate on short term loans and consumers can only take out four payday loans a year.
The industry wants the law repealed and is gathering signatures to put the issue on the General Election ballot.
So what about the idea of opening The Greater Dayton RTA Pay Day Loan Shop? According to a status report given to the RTA Board of Trustees on Tuesday, Aug. 5, the idea has been dropped (presumably like a hot potato) due to “image and related problems.”
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Jackson Browne takes on Ohio Republican Party
Ohio Republican Party spokesman John McClelland has become quite the technological savant in recent months, posting videos to the party’s YouTubesite, including one called “Simple Thing” that included a Jackson Browne tune about gas prices and the candidates.
That video earned the ire of Browne himself. Browne’s lawyers sent McClelland a letter ordering him to take down the video within 48 hours. McClelland groused, but complied.
In a phone call, he declined to comment. But his Facebook status update may have spoken volumes for him: As of 11:45 a.m. Wednesday, McClelland wrote that he was “being threatened by Jackson Brown’s attorneys. Jeez, we’ve given him the most airplay he’s had in years. You’d think he’d be happy.”
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Democrats welcome “Exxon John” to Ohio
Republicans may be spending lots of time and money casting Democrat Barack Obama as an out-of-touch celebrity elitist, but Democrats are trying to strike back.
The Democratic National Committee “welcomed” Republican John McCain to Ohio on Wednesday, Aug. 6, with a press release dubbing him “Exxon John” because of ties to the oil industry.
The Democrats even threw in a video:
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McCain calls for “economic surge”
Republican John McCain opened up a two-day Ohio campaign swing with a call for an “economic surge” to get the economy going again.
Here are McCain’s remarks prepared for delivering on Wednesday, Aug. 6, in Jackson following a tour of the Merillat Kitchen Cabinet Plant:
“It’s time to get America’s economy moving again. Companies like Merillat and families across Ohio face challenges in their business and around the kitchen table. Our energy prices are too high. We are losing jobs. Our housing market is in decline. The cost of everything is going up, and in the face of this, Washington is on vacation.
“Now is the time for action. We need an “all of the above” plan to address our energy crisis with alternative energy, drilling and nuclear power. We need to crack down on those who have abused our credit market and caused this housing decline.
“And we need to take action to support American businesses so that we stop jobs from going overseas and create more jobs here at home.
“America has the second highest business tax rate in the entire world. It is any wonder that jobs are moving overseas when we are taxing them out of the country? Unfortunately Senator Obama’s plans would raise taxes on businesses even more.
“He has promised tax increases on income, tax increases on investment, tax increases on small businesses. This is exactly the wrong strategy. Raising taxes in a bad economy is about the worst thing you could do because it will kill even more jobs when what we need are policies that create jobs.
“What we need today is an Economic Surge to keep jobs here at home and create new ones. We need to reduce the tax burden on businesses that choose to make their home in the U.S. We need to open new markets to U.S. products. We need to reduce the cost of healthcare. And we need to end the out of control spending in Washington that is putting our debt on the backs of our children.
“Now is the time for action, and when I am President, we are going to get it done.”
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AARP Poll: Candidates not addressing economy, health care
A new poll released on Wednesday, AARP defines the undecided, swing voters in Ohio and five other key states crucial to success in the November election.
They’re white, lower-to-middle income, older women, according to the poll taken in Florida, Iowa, New Hampshire, New Mexico and Pennsylvania as well as Ohio.
They’re focused on the economy and health care and believe Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama are doing a poor or fair job of addressing these issues, according to the poll.
Results for Ohio show 76 percent of swing voters think the candidates are doing a “poor” or “fair” job of addressing health care and financial security issues.
The candidates need to address issues such as how to require clear explanations for health care costs to patients will know the costs up front, the poll results suggest.aar
For full poll results, click here.
