TITLE: "Pump." LENGTH: 30 seconds AIRING: National cable and Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Northern Virginia and Wisconsin. SCRIPT: Announcer: "Gas prices _ $4, $5, no end in sight, because some in Washington are still saying no to drilling in America. No to independence from foreign oil. Who can you thank for rising prices at the pump?" Crowd chanting: "Obama, Obama, Obama!" Announcer: "One man knows we must now drill more in America and rescue our family budgets. Don't hope for more energy, vote for it. McCain." McCain: "I'm John McCain and I approve this message." KEY IMAGES: A lonely gas pump with heat waves rising around it. A pump's price readout rolls over to $5. At first indiscernible, background chanting grows louder. A smiling Obama appears on the screen with a pump rising over his right shoulder. It is now clear that the chants are a pro-Obama crowd: "Obama, Obama, Obama!" The screen goes dark. A clip appears of McCain speaking to a crowd, replaced by a still shot of McCain against a blue backdrop. ANALYSIS: This ad is the latest tit-for-tat commercial over energy in the presidential campaign. Earlier this month, an Obama ad accused McCain of being "part of the problem" of high gas prices. This one flat out blames Obama. The main premise of McCain's ad _ that opposition to drilling is responsible for high gas prices _ is an assertion that has been disputed even by McCain allies. There is a strong case that proponents make for additional drilling, but few will argue that it would alleviate this summer's prices at the pump. President Bush this month called on Congress to lift a moratorium that has blocked energy development over 80 percent of the country's coastal waters and to allow drilling in an Alaska wildlife refuge. But Bush has said that these steps "will take years to have their full impact" on energy costs. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a McCain backer, opposes lifting the ban on new oil drilling on the continental shelf and has said the moratorium is not responsible for rising prices. Randall Luthi, who heads the Interior Department's Minerals Management Service that operates the federal offshore energy leasing program, told The Associated Press this month that even if leases became available now, "It will be 5 to 10 years or longer for actual production." It is true that Obama opposes lifting the moratorium on offshore oil drilling and has opposed drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a step Bush and many Republicans support. Continued... |