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News Corporation chairman and chief executive Rupert Murdoch has used his newly acquired technology conference D6 to throw his weight behind "rock star" Barack Obama's presidential campaign, as well as giving his views on the Wall Street Journal.

Despite saying he was a friend of John McCain, Murdoch said the Republican presidential nominee had "a lot of problems".
"McCain has been in congress a long time and you've got to make too many compromise," he said.
"What does he really stand for? He's a patriot - he's a friend of mine and a really decent guy - but he's unpredictable.
"[He] doesn't know much about the economy and - I say this sympathetically - I think he has a lot of problems."

A fund raising event at the London home of Rupert Murdoch’s daughter has raised $400,000 for Barack Obama’s campaign to be President.
Those attending were asked to pay £1,160 each to Senator Obama’s fund. Only those holding American passports are allowed to contribute directly to campaigns.
Although Gwyneth Paltrow, the Oscar-winning actress, was invited she did not attend. David Schwimmer, who played Ross in the American series Friends, was photographed arriving at the event which took place on 28 April.

Some Iranian dude just said they'd rather talk with the old man McCain

There simply is just not much substance there.

that our enemies are hoping for Obama to get the presidency.

Now he's finally got the media on his side

Oil settles at a record $138.54 a barrel, up $10.75, on weak dollar and forecast that crude will hit $150 by July 4.

Support for Big Oil

McCain Accepted $291,658 from Big Oil in 2007. On average, senators voting for big oil tax breaks and against incentives for renewable energy and efficiency in 2007 received $195,973 in campaign donations from the oil industry during this decade. In 2007 alone, Sen. McCain received $291,658 from the oil and gas industry. McCain missed all three critical clean energy votes in 2007. His absences aided big oil because opponents of oil industry tax breaks needed a super majority of 60 votes to pass the provision to close the loopholes, regardless of the number of Senators who voted. In other words, an absence was the same as voting against shifting money from big oil tax breaks to incentives for clean energy. [4/09/08]

McCain Missed Opportunity To End Big Oil Tax Breaks to Invest in Clean Energy. In 2007, McCain was the only senator who failed to vote on a motion to invoke cloture (thus limiting debate) on the Energy Independence and Security Act. This vote was about whether to close $13 billion in tax breaks for major oil and gas companies to invest in new clean energy technologies such as wind and solar, and efficiency. Sixty votes were required for passage. The motion was rejected 59-40. [CQ.com; HR 6, Vote #425, 12/13/07]

Spokesman Said McCain Would Have Voted With Big Oil. According to Forbes.com, "Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., was not present for the voting because he is on the presidential campaign trail. However, a spokesperson said that he would not have supported breaking the filibuster." [Forbes.com, 12/13/07]

McCain Tax Plan Huge Windfall for ExxonMobil, Others. Sen. McCain recently proposed to cut the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent. This would have reduced ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips taxes by $1.2 billion each in 2007. It would have saved Chevron $480 million in 2007. [March 27, 2008]

Gas Tax Holiday Would Hike Oil Prices. On April 15, 2008, Sen. McCain proposed a three month gas tax holiday. He would suspend the federal gasoline tax of 18.4 cents per gallon from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Economists believe that lowering gasoline prices this way could stimulate more demand. Since oil refinery capacity is limited, this could further drive prices up. "The problem is that lowering gasoline prices at the pump would encourage more consumption. So in the long run, it would push prices up."[New York Times, 4/15/08]

McCain Is Officially Inducted into the Petroleum Club. In addition to targeting campaign fund-raising efforts toward the oil industry, with a $1000-a-head roundtable at the Denver Petroleum Club on March 27, 2008, several of his campaign aides are former oil industry lobbyists. [3/27/08]

McCain Repeatedly Voted Against American Consumers and for Rich Oil Companies. In 2005, McCain twice voted against legislation that would have temporarily taxed oil company profits and provided consumers with a tax credit. [Senate Roll Call Vote #341, 11/17/05; Senate Roll Call Vote #331, 11/17/05]

McCain Said U.S. Dependence on Foreign Oil Was A Security Threat, Yet He Voted Against Reducing that Dependence. In 2005, McCain voted against legislation calling on the president to submit a plan to reduce foreign petroleum imports by 40 percent. [Senate Roll Call Vote #140, 6/16/05]

McCain Skipped Vote on Green Tax Credits in Stimulus Package. In the 2008 Recovery Rebates and Economic Stimulus for the American People Act the Senate included provisions to renew and extend the Production Tax Credit and Investment Tax credit for power companies, businesses, and individuals who employ wind, geothermal, solar, and other types of renewable electricity. The February 6, 2008 Senate vote failed to invoke cloture by one vote, and the Senate was forced to drop the renewable electricity incentives. Sen. McCain was the only senator to miss the vote. He indicated that he would have voted against the package with the extension of the renewable electricity incentives. [2/6/08; Washington Post, 2/7/08]

McCain Skipped Vote on Renewable Energy. In 2007, McCain skipped a vote on a motion to invoke cloture (thus limiting debate) on the Energy Independence and Security Act, which included fuel economy, energy efficiency, and renewable fuels provisions. The controversial issue in the Senate was the House-passed provision to require electric utilities to produce at least 15 percent of their electricity from renewable energy sources by 2020. The previously mentioned clean energy tax package was also an issue. Sixty votes were required for passage. Sen. McCain was the only one of five senators then running for president who missed the vote. The motion was rejected 53-42. [HR 6, Vote #416, 12/07/07] =

McCain Skipped Vote to Establish $32.1B of Tax Incentives for Renewable Energy and Efficiency. In 2007, McCain failed to vote on a motion to invoke cloture (thus limiting debate) on an amendment by Sens. Baucus (D-MT) and Grassley (R-IA) that would establish $32.1 billion of tax incentives for alternative energy sources. The amendment would have provided tax incentives for more energy efficiency and the development of carbon capture and storage technology to reduce global warming pollution from power plants. It would have paid for these tax incentives with savings from closing oil company tax loopholes and recovering unpaid royalties from oil and gas production in federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico. Sixty votes were required for passage. Motion rejected 57-36: R 10-34; D 45-2 (ND 41-1, SD 4-1); I 2-0. [HR 6, Vote #223, 6/21/07] NOTE: Sen. Reid switched his vote from "yes" to "no" to protect his ability to conduct a revote.

McCain Opposes Renewable Electricity. A renewable electricity standard would require utilities to generate a certain portion of their electricity from wind, solar, geothermal, and other renewable energy sources. Twenty six states, including Arizona, have such requirements. In 2002 and 2005, there were votes in the Senate to require utilities nationwide to generate 10 percent or 20 percent of their electricity from renewable energy resources. Sen. McCain voted against renewable electricity every time.

2005: Voted against a renewable portfolio standard

2002: Voted against 20 percent requirement:

2002 (Vote 55): Voted to gut 10 percent requirement:

2002 (Vote 59): voted to gut 10 percent requirement:

McCain Voted Against Important Efficiency Standards. In 2002, Sen. McCain voted against an amendment by Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) that would have restored a standard to require a 30 percent increase in efficiency for air conditioners. It would have saved consumers $1 billion on their electric bills, reduced energy use enough to avoid construction of 45 new power plants, and reduced greenhouse gases by 2.5 million metric tons. President Bush had blocked this rule, and Sen. McCain's vote supported him. [4/25/02]

McCain Has No Plan To Increase Energy Efficiency. Though a recent study by McKinsey &Co. found that the best way to make deep cuts in carbon emissions is to improve energy efficiency of buildings, appliances, and other energy consumers, McCain's understanding of the problem is woefully lacking. He has proposed a program of "energy audits," a system Dr. Joseph Romm calls "a weak, uncoordinated, narrowly-targeted action. They will barely have any impact when it comes to large commercial users who can already afford them." [Dr. Romm, Salon, 2/8/08]

http://www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/2008/mccain_gw_record.html

McCain Donations from Big Oil

Oil and Gas Campaign Contributions To McCain: Mccain Has Taken At Least $720,613 From The Oil & Gas Industry. According to a Public Campaign Action Fund analysis of campaign finance data provided by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics Center, John McCain accepted at least $720,613 from the oil and gas industry since 1989. [Center for Responsive Politics via Campaign Action Fund]
At Least 15 Top McCain Advisers & Fundraisers Have Lobbied For Big Oil
John McCain has at least 15 people working for his campaign, either as top fundraisers or as senior campaign staff, that have lobbied for Big Oil.

McCain's Big Oil Lobbyists

Name of Lobbyist


Campaign Role


Firm or Company


Oil Clients
Rebecca Anderson Women for McCain Steering Committee Williams & Jensen Sunoco
Wayne Berman National Finance Co-Chairman Ogilvy Government Relations Amerada Hess Chevron Texaco American Petroleum Institute
Charlie Black Senior Political Adviser BKSH Occidental Petroleum Corp. Yukos Oil Chinese National Off-Shore Oil Corp.
Eric Burgeson Fundraiser Barbour Griffith & Rogers BP *Burgeson resigned from McCain's campaign because of his lobbying ties
Kerry Cammack Fundraiser Cammack and Strong Exxon Mobil
Frank Donatelli McCain Pick as Deputy RNC Chair McGuire Woods Exxon Mobil
John Green Congressional Liaison Ogilvy Government Relations Amerada-Hess Chevon Texaco
Richard Hohlt Fundraiser Hohlt and Associates Chevron
James "Jim" Hyland Fundraiser Pennsylvania Avenue Group BP America Independent Fuel Terminal Operators Assoc. Occidental Petroleum Corp.
Peter Madigan Fundraiser Johnson, Madigan, Peck, Boland & Stewart Shell Oil
Jack Oliver Fundraiser Bryan Cave Strategies Shell Oil
Nancy Pfotenhauer Adviser Koch Industries Koch Industries
Steve Phillips Fundraiser DLA Piper BP America
Randy Scheunemann Defense and Foreign Policy Coordinator Scheunemann and Associates BP Amoco
Jeffrey Weiss Fundraiser BKSH Yukos Oil Company



McCain's Policies and Votes on Behalf of Big Oil

McCain's Tax Plan Gives Top Five Oil Companies $3.8 Billion A Year In Tax Breaks. According to a study conducted by the Center for American Progress, "The McCain plan would deliver approximately $170 billion a year in tax cuts to corporations, including some corporations that are very large and profitable. Just one of the proposals-cutting the corporate rate from 35 percent to 25 percent-would cut taxes for five largest U.S. oil companies by $3.8 billion a year." [Center for American Progress, 3/27/08]

http://mccainsource.com/corruption?id=0010

Posted April 24, 2008 7:36 AM
The Swamp

By Dan Morain

Sen. Barack Obama continued accepting donations from oil company executives and employees last month even as he aired ads in which he stated he took no oil company money, his campaign finance reports show.

Obama has taken at least $263,000 from oil company executives, family members and employees since entering the presidential race last year, including $46,000 last month. At least $140,000 has come in chunks of between $1,000 and $2,300, the maximum permitted under federal law.

Texas oil executive Robert L. Cavnar of Milagro Exploration and his wife, Gracie, have helped the Illinois Democrat raise at least another $50,000 by helping host a fundraiser earlier in the campaign.

Other oil industry donors have included Sinclair Oil President Ross Matthews of Texas and John B. Hess, chairman of Hess Corp., a New York-based oil producer and retailer with operations worldwide. Hess, who has given to other presidential candidates, including Sen. John McCain, gave $2,300 to Obama last year, as did his wife, Susan. Hess gave $14,000 to Obama's Senate run in 2003. The oil executives did not return phone calls.

In the weeks leading up to the Pennsylvania primary, Obama aired a campaign spot in Indiana and Pennsylvania that sought to reinforce his theme that he would change the Washington culture, while also tapping into voter distress about the high price of gasoline. In the ad, he called for a windfall profits "penalty."

"Since the gas lines of the '70s, Democrats and Republicans have talked about energy independence but nothing's changed -- except now Exxon's making $40 billion a year and we're paying $3.50 for gas. I'm Barack Obama. I don't take money from oil companies or Washington lobbyists, and I won't let them block change anymore," says the spot, which aired as recently as April 8.

Obama's ad is factually correct. He does not take money from oil companies. A 1907 federal law bars all corporations from giving money to political candidates. However, oil company employees can make donations.

As the ad aired, Obama took $12,400 from oil company executives and employees in increments of $1,000 or more. Altogether, people who identify themselves as working for oil and gas companies donated $46,000 in March.


Obama spokesman Ben Labolt said unlike Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and McCain, Obama refused to take money from federal lobbyists and political action committees.

"He accepted no contributions from oil and gas company political action committees, or from those who are paid to lobby Congress on behalf of oil and gas companies -- the money that is intended to purchase influence and access on behalf of corporate interests," Labolt said.

Clinton countered Obama's ad with one detailing his oil company-related donations from employees and executives of Exxon and other major petroleum companies. Factcheck.org, part of the Annenberg School of Communications at the University of Pennsylvania, also chastised Obama for airing the spot.

"From our perspective, if there is a distinction between oil company PACs and lobbyists, and their executives, it is a mighty fine line," said Sheila Krumholz, director of the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks campaign donations. "They all represent the same interest -- oil."

Clinton has taken $336,000 from oil company executives and employees since entering the presidential race, including $27,000 in March. McCain took $41,000 last month, for a total of $445,000.

Donors who spoke with The Times said their contributions were not directed by their employers.

Bill Mintz, communications director for Apache Corp., a Houston-based oil company, said his decision to give -- he contributed $2,300 in February before Obama's ad aired -- was neither solicited by his company executives nor by Obama's campaign.

Mintz said in an interview that the Obama ad did not make him regret his donation. But he also said the spot underscored what he saw as a persistent problem in the political discourse over energy.

"I don't think either party is addressing the country's and world's energy needs realistically," Mintz said. "We're not going to produce our way out of this and we're not going to solve the problem with conservation and alternative energy."


Dan Morain writes for the Los Angeles Times

Sen. Barack Obama continued accepting donations from oil company executives and employees last month even as he aired ads in which he stated he took no oil company money, his campaign finance reports show.

Obama has taken at least $263,000 from oil company executives, family members and employees since entering the presidential race last year, including $46,000 last month. At least $140,000 has come in chunks of between $1,000 and $2,300, the maximum permitted under federal law.

Obama has, however, accepted more than $213,000 in contributions from individuals who work for, or whose spouses work for, companies in the oil and gas industry, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. That's not as much as Sen. Hillary Clinton, who has received more than $306,000 in donations from people tied to the industry, but it's still a substantial amount.

http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/obamas_oil_spill.html

May 1 (Bloomberg) -- Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's proposal for a windfall profits tax on oil companies could cost $15 billion a year at last year's profit levels, a campaign adviser said.

The plan would target profit from the biggest oil companies by taxing each barrel of oil costing more than $80, according to a fact sheet on the proposal. The tax would help pay for a $1,000 tax cut for working families, an expansion of the earned- income tax credit and assistance for people who can't afford their energy bills.

``The profits right now are so remarkable that one could trim them 10 percent or so, which would turn out to be somewhere in the $15 billion range,'' said Jason Grumet, an adviser to the Obama campaign.

Obama's plan may be three times larger than the $50 billion, 10-year plan contemplated by his Democratic rival, New York Senator Hillary Clinton. Republican candidate John McCain, an Arizona senator, has no plan to raise oil and gas industry taxes, said his economic adviser, Douglas Holtz-Eakin.

Oil companies would still have ample reason to ``continue to pursue production, while at the same time providing relief to consumers,'' Grumet said.

http://www.libertypost.org/cgi-bin/readart.cgi?ArtNum=223850

The plan would target profit from the biggest oil companies by taxing each barrel of oil costing more than $80, according to a fact sheet on the proposal

I don't think McCain will have any trouble at all drawing a clear distinction between himself and Bush.