FactCheck.org takes a look at the ad I mentioned in my post earlier today, and finds it misleading on two fronts. First, it overstates the amount that McCain has received in oil industry campaign contributions:
It’s certainly true that McCain gets far more money from donors in the oil and gas industry than Obama does. And there’s no question that McCain’s recent support for expanding offshore drilling is a position that the industry favors. But the $2 million figure is inflated.
It also gives a “somewhat misleading” picture of McCain’s tax plan, which is pro-business, but not specifically pro-oil:
The ad’s claim that “McCain wants to give [oil companies] another $4 billion in tax breaks” is also somewhat misleading. McCain is not proposing any special tax breaks for the oil industry. What he’s proposing is a reduction in the corporate income tax rate for all companies. The $4 billion figure that Obama and many Democrats have constantly repeated recently is their estimate of the amount by which oil company taxes would be reduced should this proposal be enacted without any additional offsets, such as closing of existing preferences or “loopholes.”