President Obama 2012 Re-Election Campaign Attacks Big Oil, Mitt Romney In Second Major Ad Buy

WASHINGTON -- The Obama campaign is going up with its second major television ad campaign, once again focusing on the president's energy policy.

The spot, titled "Remember," portrays President Barack Obama as committed to domestic oil production and to leveling the playing field for renewable fuels and industry subsidies. The ad also targets Mitt Romney for being in the pocket of the oil industry's heaviest hitters.

The Obama campaign will be airing the new spot in Ohio, Iowa, Virginia, Florida and Nevada -- critical battleground states -- on both broadcast and cable television. One top campaign aide called the advertising purchase "significant."

The new ad is Obama's second major multi-state ad campaign on the topic of energy. In mid-January, the campaign put up a spot defending the administration's energy record that aired in Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin.

That ad responded to attack ads from the conservative group Americans for Prosperity. This one follows a similar spot by the oil industry-backed American Energy Alliance.

The president's political aides have not hidden their feelings of vulnerability on gas prices and energy policy. The campaign's matching ad for ad suggests a heightened sense of concern in Chicago.

That said, the new spot is far less defensive than the first, devoting time to aggressively attacking Romney in addition to defending the president's record.

UPDATE: 6:16 p.m. -- Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul quickly blasted out the following email response the new Obama ad:

“It’s no surprise President Obama is spending his soon-to-be $1 billion war chest to attack Mitt Romney and deflect blame for his failure to control gas prices," Saul said. "His own energy secretary, Steven Chu, said in 2008 that we have to find a way to get the price of gas up to the level in Europe. It looks like he’s succeeding, and, unfortunately, the American people are worse off for it."