Campaigning Obama Bashes Big Oil in Swing States

Currently running in five battleground states: Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, Ohio and Virginia is an ad by Team Obama which is an attempt to smear Mitt Romney as the candidate in bed with "Big Oil". Here's the problem for Team Obama - they are clueless on how the average American thinks of the oil and gas production crisis in this country. The average American thinks oil and gas production is a good thing. And, who does the majority of oil and gas production domestically? Yes. Big Oil.

The 30-second spot re-inforces a message President Barack Obama has been making in speeches: that under his tenure, domestic oil production is at an 8-year high and "Big Oil" is bankrolling Republicans because he wants to end their tax breaks and bolster renewable energy programs.

The announcer says in the spot, "In all these fights, Mitt Romney's stood with Big Oil-- for their tax breaks, attacking higher mileage standards and renewables."

What Obama doesn't mention when he brags that production is up - it is only up (marginally) on private land. It is still down on public (the land he has say-so over) land and in the Gulf of Mexico, where there is still a permitorium. Permits are still be slow-walked and red tape is strangling small producers out of business.

And, Barack Obama the hypocrite emerges: did he forget all the money that oil giant BP gave to his campaigns?

During his time in the Senate and while running for president, Obama received a total of $77,051 from the oil giant and is the top recipient of BP PAC and individual money over the past 20 years, according to financial disclosure records.

The GOP has a little video response to Obama playing politics with energy policy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_rFYbQJBTg&feature=player_profilepage

So, while Obama continues to pick energy industry winners and losers - heavily prejudiced toward the 'green' energy firms - the taxpayers money continues to be thrown down a rabbit hole. Just Monday another solar energy company that benefited from generous taxpayer funding declared bankruptcy.

All of the above approach to energy production means oil and gas production, too. Hyper liberal ideology is not energy policy. Americans deserve better.