Obama Continues His Energy, Anti-McCain Offensive

Coming off a week in which he was compared to Britney Spears and Paris Hilton and saw his standing in the polls drop, Democrats' chief concern when assessing Barack Obama was not whether he could take a punch but whether he could launch a sustained counterattack against John McCain.

The Illinois Democrat is doing his best to placate those worries. For the second straight day, Obama is taking the offensive on energy. Once again, he is painting the presumptive Republican nominee as a stooge of Big Oil, a clone of George Bush, and a roadblock to any meaningful policy reform.

The Obama campaign released a contrast (err... attack) ad on Tuesday morning, drawing attention to his opponent's many years in Washington and opposition to alternative energies.

"John McCain. He's been in Washington for 26 years. And as gas prices soared and dependence on oil exploded, McCain was voting against alternative energy, against higher mileage standards. Barack Obama. He'll make energy independence an urgent national priority, raise mileage standards, fast-track technology for alternative fuels. A thousand dollar tax cut to help families as we break the grip of foreign oil. A real plan, and new energy."

Later in the day, Obama is set to appear in town halls in Youngstown and Berea, Ohio, where he will draw even tougher arguments against his opponent.

"So to sum up, under Senator McCain's plan, the oil companies get billions more, we don't pay any less at the pump, and we stay in the same cycle of dependence on oil that got us into this crisis," read prepared remarks released by the Obama campaign. "The oil companies have placed their bet on Senator McCain, and if he wins, they will continue to cash in while our families and our economy suffer and our future is put in jeopardy.

"That's the choice we face in this election. We can choose four years more of the same failed policies that have gotten us where we are. Four years more of oil companies calling the shots while hard working families are struggling. That's what Senator McCain is offering."

The sharp rhetoric reflects not only the importance of the energy debate but the critical stage that this campaign is entering. One Democratic operative told the Huffington Post that he was worried Obama had allowed himself to be too easily defined as a vacuous celebrity last week without offering a similarly unflattering frame for McCain. Hammering home a critical message for more than one day, he added, would be a needed response -- something which Obama now seems to be doing.

Comments

[mergina]

Obama is half black and half white, or something like that right? So then WHY, when he is making a point or defending himself against some b.s. attack, does he go into the BLACK VOICE? Has anyone else noticed this. He could be speaking eloquently one moment, and then WHAM, the black voice, and at times, the ANGRY BLACK VOICE. Not good for winning an election. Not good at all, "no wa ahm sayin?"

[PumaAnn]

I agree. O should stay on the attack. *chuckle.*

[Dave01]

I only have one problem with Obama's ads. The narrator's voice seems to be too passive. He needs a stronger voice when discussing McCain, and then bring in the current narrator after slapping McCain with the McBush charge.

[jahjah]

he is not attacking but he is telling the truth obama tells it like it is

[mergina]

He is telling it like an angry black man. It is turning people off.

[305Rider]

Really, those people giving him an standing ovation in Ohio didn't seem turned off.

[jacqmac]

Okay-keep complaining about taxes and at the same time complaining how the streets in your town have potholes big enough to swallow a small child, bridges keep falling down, the police and fire departments are strapped for personnel and can't respond adequately in an emergency, there are 'smelly, homeless people' on the streets....Just keep complaining about taxes....Fact is that taxes are a necessary part of living in any civilized society. The Romans taxed. The Greeks taxed. The Egyptians taxed. UNFORTUNATELY, all those formerly great civilizations died out because the little guys were getting squeezed dry and the big guys just got bigger. For 1% of the population to own 90% of the wealth of this nation is terribly horribly wrong. It is also terribly horribly wrong for this one percent and their minions (McCain, Bush, etc. ) to pat the rest of us on the head and tell us that the economy is 'all in our minds' and if we'd just 'buck up and stop whining' everything would be okay! The BIGGEST whiners are those who stand to 'lose' in Obama's restructured tax system. Poor pitiful oil and gas company CEO's-they MIGHT even have to take a second job to pay those exorbitant taxes!

[santamonica39]

He really needs to attack more. Not false attacks like McCain is launching, but real attacks on McCain and his policies and politics. There is plenty of material and plenty of things the media will never attack McCain for so Obama must start doing it more aggressively. The sad truth is that negative ads work. And if Obama wants to stay above the fray he will lose. Being nice is a good policy for the primary, but not in a general election where the opposition is doing absolutely nothing but attacking you. This election has to stop being all about Barack Obama and start becoming more about what an absolute nightmare a McCain administration would look like.

[pattio66]

How is it that when truth is spoken, even HuffPo calls it an attack?

[jazzer]

Agreed. That ad sounded like a substance debate to me. Now if Obama wanted to counter the ads run against him last week, then he would contrast McCain to BOZO the clown (including pictures and music). Then we could say that Obama was attacking McCain (not his positions).

[Mogamboguru]

Well - if truth is a viable weapon in a campaign, then telling the truth may justifiably be called an attack. I rather like to attack McC with truth, than see BO being attacked by McC's campaign's lies.

[Sixtwo]

And, don't forget, the TRUTH hurts! When you tell the truth, you don't have to remember what you said the last time!

[mainmonkey]

good question.

[psychmaj323]

It's called an attack because you're going after someone, in this case Obama is just using John McCain's record.

[mergina]

Because they are in what is becoming a political WAR, not a presidential race. This is a WAR between two camps, not an election between two men for president.­....UNDAHS­TAN WA I'M SAYIN'?

[305Rider]

Nicely put.

[woodguru]

It seems strange to see an administration that can operate in a zone of misinformation and outright lies that has such a large number of supporters that take faulty premises and give them full support.

It leaves interesting solutions if elected officials are to function without being unduly influenced by a public that is misinformed. The best counter is to have an administration that does the best job possible of exposing and educating pertinent facts behind issues. It is easy to see how politicians can be forced to acknowledge a seemingly predominant public support for something like drilling for more oil.

We need an information source that can provide documentation and credible support for facts behind the issue so that those who take the time to understand the realities can know they have reliable information to base decisions on. The deeper the drilling issue is looked at the clearer it is that the american people are being sold a false bill of goods.

Obama needs to step up accurate representation of the opposition's weaker premises.

[masha2008]

an attack a day helps keep mccain away.

bush and mccain hearts big oil. keep that up and think of some more. it''s a long way to go.

[mergina]

I would have to agree with you. If he attacked me once, I would attack him twice, or more. There is so much to legitimately attack mccain on.

[Obama4change]

Senator Obama's speech on energy was great! I would like the MSM to investigate the Social Security entitlement McCain is getting. How can you make millions of dollars a year and get this entitlement? Yet the republicans blame low-income people for being on welfare, getting free health care and benefiting from these entitlements program while you have someone like McOil getting a Social Security payment plus free health care benefits all his life. Why don't the republicans talk about this? How about having a wife who was a drug addict and stole from a charity to supply her drug use? How low can you go. This is the man and woman some Americans want to put in the White House. If he was a person of color he would not stand a chance with that background. He would have been called all kinds of names in the media, but yet many people want to see him as president?

[RaraAvis17]

I feel O and his people need to get tougher on their ads. They really need to bring up the 'real mccoy' and tell it like it is about him. On oil, tax breaks, drilling, health care, war with Iran, and his voting record for the veterans to name a few. Telling the truth is not playing dirty, but being honest - unlike the mccoy camp.

[notthistime]

now that I agree with RaraAvis17. Truth is something that has to be shown in this election. It is not playing dirty and will have the most impact.

Go Obama 08

[mergina]

Absolument!

[woodguru]

Ultimate hardball, where did we lose sight of the fact that we have oversight committees and courts that are set up as oversight protections to hold elected officials accountable to the constitution? Is it okay for even a president or vice president to refuse to comply with attempts to maintain accountability. Of course not.

Nothing Obama could do would show that he has the ability to lead this country by doing the hard and necessary things such as holding the president and his administration accountable to the constitution they are sworn to uphold.

The next administration is going to be plagued by insidious shadows of the current administration unless it is eliminated in a decisive manner. Cleanup will be made infinitely easier if the heart of this administration is uprooted and eliminated.

Obama would show he is in another category than McCain by taking full charge of the ultimate government accountability action possible. The senate and house needs the wake-up call that they fumbled their oversight and protection of the constitution and it's not okay. It's a line in the sand that we need to know who stands on the side of the people and good government.

[ABrindell]

Obama is not only a once-in-a-­generation orator, and shockingly progressive, inspiring candidate, but he has also managed to keep himself classy in an increasingly ugly race. This presidential race is about more than just the next 4 years, or 8 years, it's about where we want politics to go in the future. I realize that saying "politics as usual" has been a catch phrase for the last 60 years, but it really has been the case. Obama is showing himself to be capable of staying above the fray, and remain focused on the real issues rather than trying to worry just about winning.

McCain said Obama would lose a war to win an election. McCain (and practically every other politician on the market, including a lot of democrats and Hillary Clinton) would kill the intention of the democratic process to win an election. This isn't just about gas prices, the economy, or the war in Iraq. This is about the future of our country, and whether we want the success of Rovian politics to define the landscape in America for the next 50 years, or if we want to cut it off right at the source, after seeing what 8 years of a president who never got any REAL scrutiny during the election season can cause.

[bujeeboo]

Obama swore he would not be "swiftboated".

He's being swiftboated on a daily basis. Folks, I am just not sure about the "high road" anymore. I am so discouraged.

I never, ever supported HRC, was for Obama all the way from the beginning. And I believe if she was the candidate, she would lose on her merits as a candidate. But I have to wonder how she would be handling the GOP shills and dirtbags. I just don't think she would be sitting back and being so nice to McCain. As a candidate, he sucks. His whining and screeching is making points with the dopes out there, but they don't understand the buyer's remorse they will have.

Should I start praying next???? Obama, be tough with this crap NOW!

[heal57]

Obama knows what he's doing. He's not whining. He's the winner and he knows it. You don't have to be a tough sob to be effective. We're just not used to his kind of politics. I like it. Don't be discouraged. He's going to win. HRC was Bush in a pantsuit on all war issues. We picked the right candidate.


Independent for Obama '08

[mergina]

He is getting is booty kicked.

[Passenger57]

I've read some pretty good ideas on this site . I wonder if Obama's people are reading this. I HOPE SO!!!
Maybe they're saving the heavy artillery for later in the race.

[mergina]

They never have heavy artillery. They are democrats. Most of what they do is whine.