Even now that the economy is hitting the skids bigtime [2] and the price of oil is back down below $100 ($66 per barrel on Oct. 30 according to CNNMoney [3])—prompting OPEC at its Vienna meeting to decide to cut production, after months of high output (WSJ [4], Oct. 25)—Exxon's profits continue to break records. John McCain seizes on this to take a cheap (if none too logical) shot at Obama...
First, the Chicago Tribune's The Swamp [5] blog points out the bizarre irony of McCain's latest charges:
Obama's a socialist corporate tool?
One day, Sen. John McCain is pushing the notion that Sen. Barack Obama is a socialist intent on spreading the wealth of higher-paid Americans to lower-income Americans. Today, McCain was pitching the idea that Obama was a corporate tool for the oil industry.Here's what McCain said this morning at his Defiance, Ohio rally following Exxon Mobil's announcement of its record corporate profits.
Today — (cheers, applause) — today ExxonMobil reported record profits. Senator Obama voted for billions in corporate giveaways to the oil companies. I voted against it. (Cheers, applause.) When I'm president, we're not going to let that happen.
Conflicting messages, yes. But this is clearly throw-it-all-against-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks time for the McCain campaign.
Next, the Washington Independent [6] points out that both candidates have actually voted for Big Oil tax-breaks, and both have taken money from the oil companies—but McCain way more!
Which Candidate Does Exxon Have a Bigger Crush On?
Shock, surprise! Exxon Mobil Corp. reported [7] record-breaking quarterly profits today. The oil company earned $14.83 billion in its fiscal third quarter, more than any company in U.S. history.Hearing the news, Sen. John McCain accused [8] Sen. Barack Obama of being in the pockets of Big Oil, a charge Obama has repeatedly leveled at McCain in campaign ads. McCain blasted Obama for supporting tax breaks for oil companies in a 2005 energy bill.
The Arizona senator didn’t mention, however, that he and Obama recently voted for a piece of legislation — the energy package tacked onto the $700-billion bailout bill — that gave even more tax breaks to oil companies. Passage of the energy package — whose primary purpose was to bolster clean energy — was continually delayed because Republicans in Congress refused to support a bill that didn’t help fossil-fuel companies.
Neither presidential candidate has talked about how much money his campaign has received from the big, bad oil companies. Here are the numbers: The McCain campaign has received $1.3 million, while the Obama team has gotten $400,000.
Stick that in your barrel and refine it.
See our last posts on the presidential horse-race [9], the struggle for global oil [10], and petro-oligarchical rule [11].