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McCain's 'Celeb' Ad Hits Obama Again

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Jul 30, 2008 10:06 pm US/Mountain

McCain's 'Celeb' Ad Hits Obama Again

Reporting
Raj Chohan
DENVER (CBS4) ― Republican John McCain's newest political ad is the campaign's third consecutive commercial to go negative against Democrat Barack Obama. The 30 second attack spot called "celeb" mocks Obama's rock-star status, juxtaposing the Illinois senator with images of self-indulgent pop-culture icons Britney Spears and Paris Hilton.

Ad: He's the biggest celebrity in the world, but is he ready to lead?

Whether these candidates are "ready" to be president is of course a matter of opinion, but it's exactly the question McCain is hoping to reinforce in the minds of undecided independents who may question Obama's "experience" credentials.

Ad: With gas prices soaring Barack Obama says no to off shore drilling.

The claim is true. But here's the spin. Sen. Obama points out that off-shore drilling won't have an immediate impact on gas prices. He's right. Even the U.S. Energy Department estimates that lifting the moratorium on off-shore drilling is unlikely to have a significant impact on the oil markets until 2030. This is because the estimated "bonanza" will account for a small percentage of world oil demand. Even under optimistic projections, it will take upwards of a decade to begin recovering the available oil.

But it's not the whole story. Until recently, Sen. McCain opposed expanding off-shore drilling. He defends his change of position with the argument that adding domestic supply means less money going to countries hostile to the U.S., and that domestic oil production is but one piece of a broader energy policy that would include wind, solar, ethanol and nuclear.

AD: and says he'll raise taxes on electricity.

Here's the spin. Obama's so-called tax on electricity refers to his support of a carbon cap-and-trade system, similar to what's going on in the European Union. Cap-and-trade will almost certainly drive up the cost of electricity if adopted in the U.S. It is therefore an implicit tax. What the ad doesn't reveal is that McCain also supports a similar regulatory regime. In fact, he tried to pass a carbon cap-and-trade bill in 2003 with Sen. Joe Lieberman. It's one of several policy approaches that keeps fiscal conservatives uncomfortable with McCain. The Arizona senator also supports building dozens of new nuclear power plants which, while controversial, emit very little carbon relative to traditional fossil energy. Obama is opposed to nuclear energy expansion but supports the aggressive development of renewable energy.

Bottom line, the ad is an effective lampoon on Obama's celebrity status. But the shaky claims attacking Obama's energy policy reveals what the fall campaign is really going to be about- prices at the pump. Unfortunately, neither candidate has the power to do much about that in the short run.

(© MMIX CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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