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Obama for America

"Unprecedented" +

:30 ad run in IA, MI, NC, OH, VA and WI, announced Jan. 18, 2012.

[Music] Male Announcer: Secretive billionaires attacking President Obama…

            TEXT: Secretive oil billionaires are attacking President Obama.

…with ads fact-checkers say are not tethered to the facts.

            TEXT: Solyndra Attack Ad ad “not tethered to facts.” ABC News, 1/13/12

While independent watchdogs call this President’s record on ethics…

  TEXT: President Obama’s Record on Ethics

"unprecedented."

           TEXT: “Unprecedented.” Common Cause, League of Women Voters, 4/28/09

And America’s clean-energy industry?

          TEXT:  Barackobama.com/EnergyFacts

Two-point-seven million jobs…

TEXT: Clean-Energy American Jobs, 2.7 MILLION, Brookings Institution, 7/13/11, Barackobama.com/EnergyFacts

…and ”expanding rapidly.”

TEXT: Clean-Energy American Jobs, “expanding rapidly”, Brookings Institution, 7/13/11, Barackobama.com/EnergyFacts

For the first time in thirteen years…

TEXT: Barackobama.com/EnergyFacts

…our dependence on foreign oil is below fifty percent.

TEXT: America’s Dependence on Foreign Oil “below the 50 percent mark”, Energy Information Administration, 5/25/11, Barackobama.com/EnergyFacts

President Obama.  Kept his promise to toughen ethics rules…

TEXT: President Obama “kept a campaign promise to toughen ethics rules.” Politifact, 1/21/09

…and strengthen America’s energy economy.

TEXT: Approved by Barack Obama.  Paid for by Obama for America.

Obama (voiceover): I'm Barack Obama, and I approve this message.


Notes: Obama's first major ad mixes energy and ethics.  The ad responds to an Americans for Prosperity ad ("Obama Sacrifices Pawns for Politics") run in the same states starting on January 16, a reported $6 million buy.

According to the campaign press release, "The ad highlights President Obama’s historic accomplishments on clean energy and his record of setting the strongest ethical standards to reduce the influence of special interests in Washington. While the President has made significant achievements to ensure a clean-energy future for our country, oil executives have funded an ad campaign attacking that progress. Fighting against investments in clean energy, these secretive corporate interests are determined to protect tax breaks for oil companies that the President wants to end."
 
The Annenberg Public Policy Center's FactCheck.org found fault with the Obama campaign's ad, pointing out that a) the quote on ethics refers to Obama's first 100 days, b) the 2.7 million jobs includes jobs created before Obama took office, and c) the decline in dependence on foreign oil is due to a number of factors, including the slow economy.  The RNC responded with a fact check titled, "Where To Begin With Obama’s Latest Ad? Obama’s First Campaign Ad A Lot Like His Term So Far – A Whole Lot Of Talk To Thwart Attention From Obama’s Failed Record."  Also of note, the ad was released the same day as President Obama announced his decision that the Keystone XL Pipeline application be denied, a decision which drew a chorus of criticism from his Republican challengers.