Wednesday, April 16, 2008

The not-so-new politician

I've recently been hearing this ad on radio stations here in Raleigh. Well, as always, it's not exactly true... Here's a USA Today story about it:

"Nothing's changed," Sen. Barack Obama says into the camera, "except now Exxon's making $40 billion a year, and we're paying $3.50 for gas. … I don't take money from oil companies or Washington lobbyists, and I won't let them block change anymore."

Obama's ad, which has been airing in Pennsylvania as the April 22 primary approaches, is technically true but misleading, as non-partisan FactCheck.org and Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign have been quick to point out.

It's accurate that Obama doesn't take money from oil companies; neither do his opponents, because corporate contributions are illegal. But Obama, like Clinton and John McCain, has accepted donations from oil and gas company employees — $222,309 in Obama's case from donors from Exxon, Shell, Chevron and others, according to campaign-finance data. Two oil company CEOs have pledged to raise at least $50,000 each as part of Obama's fundraising team.

So, he's a "new" politician, huh? Yeah, right...

Oh, and just so we're clear here. Exxon only makes about 9 cents on the gallon, while the government (federal and state) take around 40 cents per gallon. So, who do we really need to change?


h/t Wizbang and Hot Air

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