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Watchdog: Obama Raised More Than McCain From Big Oil Executives August 8, 2008 12:42 p.m. EST Washington, D.C. (AHN) - A report by the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics has found that Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) has raised more campaign money from executives and employees of three of the world's biggest oil companies. Through June, Obama received $42,100 from Exxon employees, $35,157 from Chevron, and $16,046 from BP. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has taken more money than Obama from the oil industry overall - $1.3 million compared to $394,000 - but received only $35,166, $28,500 and $11,500 from employees of the three respective companies. The report comes amid accusations by Obama that his rival is beholden to oil company interests and has received $2 million in contributions from Big Oil. Obama's $2 million figure, however, contradicts the $1.3 million that the report says McCain has received from the industry. Another watchdog, Factcheck.org, also says the figure is incorrect. Exxon Mobil broke its own record for posting the most profits ever by a U.S. company when it reported a second quarter profit of $11.68 billion last Thursday. Obama had used the news to criticize McCain, telling voters the Republican's economic policy includes additional $1.2 billion in tax breaks for oil companies. The freshman Democrat also pointed to a June fundraiser where McCain allegedly received $1 million from oil company executives. The McCain campaign has argued, "it was Senator Obama, not John McCain, who voted for the Bush-Cheney energy bill that was a sweetheart deal for oil companies." It is not the first time that Obama has faced reports questioning his campaign messages of transparency and "a new kind" of politics. During the primary contest with Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY), Obama ran a TV ad in Indiana and Pennsylvania hat showed him saying he didn't take money from oil companies. The claim prompted criticisms from Clinton and Factchek.org that he was misleading voters since it is illegal for candidates for federal posts to take money from oil companies but not from employees and top management. Factchek.org reported at the time about the $213,000 in political contributions from oil company employees and/or their families to Obama. The watchdog also identified Obama campaign fundraisers who were oil company executives: Milagro Exploration Chief Executive Robert Cavnar and Kaiser-Francis Oil Cochairman George Kaiser. Copyright © 2003 - 2008 AHN - All rights reserved. |
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