I suggested during the primary Hillary Clinton undermined her campaign through mixed messages like suggesting nobody should pay attention to early polls that put her and Republican John McCain neck-and-neck in a hypothetical matchup, then told crowds polling showed Barack Obama trailing McCain, too, and that was somehow indicative of a bad omen for Democrats.
McCain’s now suffering from the same symptoms, and today’s news about the $14.8 billion third quarter profits by ExxonMobil prompted another example. From the Associated Press:
(McCain) seized on record oil company profit reports to draw a sharp new distinction with Obama, saying the Democrat’s rhetoric masks his votes backing new tax breaks for the industry.
“I voted against it,” said McCain. “When I’m president, we’re not going to let that happen.”
McCain was referring to a report from Exxon Mobil Corp. saying it earned $14.83 billion in the third quarter, the largest profit report in the nation’s history
“Senator Obama voted four billions in corporate giveaways to the oil companies,” said McCain. “We’re going to invest in all energy technologies.”
So McCain’s saying Obama’s a friend of Big Oil. But look at their proposals if one or the other is elected president. McCain calls for off-shore drilling (more oil profits) and tax cuts to benefit large corporations (more oil profits). Obama on the other hand is proposing windfall profits tax to develop alternative energy sources. I’m not saying McCain’s proposals are bad, just there’s a mixed message there when he slams Obama for a Senate vote but touts “Drill, Baby, Drill!”
