Pockets

Now, with Republican Presidential hopeful and Arizona Senator John McCain hammering his principle rival on the issue of increased domestic output through offshore drilling, the Illinois Senator, Barack Obama, has found his own angle, seeking to label McCain as being in the pocket of big oil. After criticizing Senator McCain for releasing attack ads Senator Obama launched another of his aimed at shoring up support for him on the issue of energy.

The latest attempt by Senator Obama to tie Senator McCain to the policies of President George W. Bush “Pockets” was released in rotation for 18 states currently being targeted for the Democratic Campaign, including swings states like Ohio. But the ad, which accuses the Republican Presidential candidate of being bought off by the oil company, stating "After one president in the pocket of big oil, we can't afford another", is coming under increased focus and scrutiny for the validity of the claims made by it.

The ad, much like the campaign speeches offered by Senator Obama, contend that "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." The question being asked is how true are the claims being made?

According to a recent article by FactCheck.org, a site ran by the nonpartisan, nonprofit Anneburg Public Policy Center for the University of Pennsylvania, the contribution levels, at least to begin with. According to the article "Obama's Overstatement", the McCain Campaign has not received $2 million in contributions from Oil Companies, as stated in the ad. Rather the number works out to roughly $1.33 million from those working in the oil industry.