Obama's first 2012 ad focuses on energy
The Republican party may not have settled yet on who will challenge the president in November, but President Obama's re-election team has already launched its first ad.
Called "unprecedented," the Obama for America ad focuses on energy policy and takes the president's critics head on.
"Secretive billionaires attacking President Obama with ads fact-checkers say are not tethered to the facts," says a narrator in the ad over an image referencing the Solyndra controversy.
The Obama team's ad notes that an independent watchdog group praised Mr. Obama's record on ethics as "unprecedented." It also highlights the growth of the clean energy sector under Mr. Obama's watch, bringing the United States' dependence on foreign oil below 50 percent for the first time in 13 years.
The thirty-second spot is running in a set of critical states: Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin.
The president's critics have slammed the administration's decision to grant a $535 million loan to the now-bankrupt solar energy Solyndra as at best a poor decision and at worst a politically-motivated investment. Conservatives have also cast Mr. Obama's interest in building up the clean energy sector as misguided.
Earlier this month, Republican presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney said that as his record in the private sector is scrutinized, he plans to put the spotlight back on Mr. Obama's record, particularly in clean energy sectors.
"He's now been a venture capitalist in Solyndra, Fisker, Tesla, and he's been a private equity guy in General Motors and Chrysler," he said.
