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Barack Obama hits "secretive oil billionaires" in first campaign ad

Green Blog
Saturday, 21 January, 2012
By Green Blog
7

This is the first advertisement from Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign. The ad targets “secretive oil billionaires”, which is a clear response to the Koch brothers recent $6 million attack ads (http://bit.ly/xrdzBH). The advertisement is also touting the rapidly growing clean-energy economy, saying that 2.7 million jobs have been created in the clean energy industry in the US, and that the dependence on foreign oil is the lowest it's been in 16 years. The advertisement is currently running in Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

"Secretive oil billionaires attacking President Obama, with ads factcheckers say are “not tethered to the facts.” While independent watchdogs called this president’s record on ethics “unprecedented.” And America’s clean energy industry? 2.7 million jobs and “expanding rapidly.” For the first time in 13 years our dependence on foreign oil is below fifty percent. President Obama kept his promise to toughen ethics rules and strengthen America’s energy economy."

It’s interesting to note that Obama and the advertisement completely ignore to mention climate change. Instead of saying that fuel economy standards help reduce greenhouse gas emissions they are only described as a way to reduce our oil consumption. And the renewable energy investments are only mentioned in terms of job created. The advertisement also fails to mention that the dependence on foreign oil is largely due to a surge in oil and natural gas drilling and not because of a noteworthy decreased consumption.

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  • https://plus.google.com/118018939924152190745 Alex Diaz

    You're mostly right, Will, and I say mostly only because I do credit Obama a bit more for what he HAS done for climate and the environment, more than any Republican would have done or will do 2013-2017. It's not as appealing as it seemed when he took office — and that remains our main gripe — but it's not as dire as the folks on the other side of the aisle. But you're right that he's not a progressive president or candidate, by any stretch. He's straight center.

  • https://plus.google.com/118018939924152190745 Alex Diaz

    Obama has reduced this to a purely political calculation: the chances of getting conservative and indep votes. That’s it. Where’s the statesmanship? Where’s the message that did get him elected in 2008? I blogged about this the other day here on G+ and in GreenBlog. It’s a terrible sign of where our country is on this issue in 2012. The only hope is that he’ll go back to the 2008 Obama in 2013 if he wins. If he doesn’t, it will be game over for the climate anyway under the new Republican prez, so…

  • https://plus.google.com/107043571292752784235 Will Schreiber

    +Alex Diaz It’s the mixed feelings that every enlightened American is feeling now. The idea that Obama is on the ‘left’ is ludicrous. Most of his major policies were actually Republican ones (e.g. health care, cap and trade)… there isn’t an environmental candidate in this election; the choice is apathetic centre-right candidate or anti-environment candidate.

  • https://plus.google.com/102979515429440498144 Jacques Sapriel

    +Alex Diaz I agree with your comment and at this point, I find the argument "Obama is a lesser evil than a Republican president" to be a pretty lame excuse. No more blank checks. We do not have the time for this BS. The amount of disappointment in the environmental community on the Obama government is huge. Reducing our dependence on fossil fuel, killing the GMO industry, supporting the transformation of the whole food supply chain are some of the radical turns that this country needs to take not continue useless wars or pursue the multiple distracting issues the Republicans have at heart. We are 15 to 20 years behind Germany and Sweden in transforming the economy and we have been at war for most of that time.

  • https://plus.google.com/118018939924152190745 Alex Diaz

    That's exactly right, +Jacques Sapriel In fact, you bring up a deep structural problem we have in America: The country's deep political divide does not allow for the radical turns, as you aptly put it, that are needed to reverse climate change. It's our curse, that climate skepticism has so grabbed the imagination of so many as to paralyze radical action. Other democracies don't have that problem because they don't have anywhere near the schism. That, of course, forces leaders like Obama to move to the center and simply do what he can, which simply won't get it done for the climate, but is far better than having a Republican in office. It's what we got.

  • https://plus.google.com/102979515429440498144 Jacques Sapriel

    +Alex Diaz Yes and , in my opinion, the deep political divide has more to do with needed constitutional issues (two party system does not allow change) and radical election finance reform than anything else. If you change the rules of the change, you change the game and the relationships between the protagonists in the game. BTW Alex are you East Coast based? If so, check out my site: PhillyEcoCity.com

  • greendeal0

    It’s always going to be contentious in an election year. To give Obama his due I saw him walking to congress the other day, small steps and all that :)

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