US presidential hopeful Barack Obama has unveiled a new TV advert in which he accuses his rival John McCain of being under the sway of big oil firms.
The ad came as Mr Obama was set to call for US emergency oil reserves to be used to help drive down fuel prices.
The ad shows Mr McCain with President George W Bush, as a narrator says: "After one president in the pocket of big oil, we can't Obama calls for poltical solution for Iraq ...
Barack Obama visits Afghanistan ...
McCain's top adviser steps down ...
Bush to attend Olympic ceremony ...
Obama, Clinton hold private meeting - US media ... afford another."
A spokesman for Republican Senator McCain said the advert was misleading.
The advert's narrator says that "big oil's filling John McCain's campaign with $2m in contributions".
The ad also promotes Mr Obama's plan to use a windfall profits tax on big oil companies to give American families a $1,000 (Ј508) tax rebate, at a time when many are struggling with high energy prices.
In a statement, McCain campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds said the advert failed to mention that Mr Obama had voted in favour of a 2005 bill giving tax breaks to energy producers. Mr McCain voted against the bill, which was supported by Mr Bush.
"Barack Obama's latest negative attack ad shows his celebrity is matched only by his hypocrisy," Mr Bounds said. "Also not mentioned is the $400,000 from big oil contributors that Barack Obama has already pocketed in this election."
'Suffering'
Mr Obama's call to release oil from the US strategic reserves represents a change from the energy policy he stated in June, in which he advocated keeping the reserve intact in case of emergency.
Campaign spokeswoman Heather Zichal said Mr Obama had reconsidered. "He recognises that Americans are suffering," she said.
Ms Zichal said that in a speech to be given on Monday in Lansing, Michigan, Mr Obama would propose releasing light crude oil from the stockpile, to be replaced at a later date with heavy crude oil.
Light crude oil is easier to turn into fuel for vehicles and other petroleum products.
The Bush administration has opposed tapping the reserve, saying it should be kept for dire emergencies. In 2005, some 10 million barrels were released in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, after supplies to refineries were disrupted.
In his own change of policy, Mr McCain recently reversed his previous opposition to offshore oil drilling.
Race row
Monday's attack ad from the Obama campaign follows a series of spats between the two presumptive White House candidates last week.
In one advert, titled Celeb, the McCain campaign called Mr Obama the "biggest celebrity in the world", but questioned his economic policies and readiness to lead the US.
The Obama campaign responded with an ad accusing Mr McCain of practising the "policies of the past", using images of him with President George W Bush.
Mr McCain's campaign also said last week that Mr Obama had "played the race card" by implying that his Republican rival was racist, while Mr Obama in turn accused Mr McCain of bringing up the issue of race.
(BBC)
<< Back