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| [Music, typing SFX] Male Announcer: Not sure who to believe on taxes?
Try this. Enter your income, marital status, number of kids--then click. A nurse earning 60 grand--you get a thousand bucks under Obama. Under McCain, just 150. The independent Tax Policy Center says Obama offers middle class tax cuts three times as big as McCain's. Even leading conservatives say Obama's plan is better for the middle class. 1.5 million have tried it. You should too. Obama (voiceover): I’m Barack Obama and I approve this message. |
| Notes:
The Heritage Foundation issued a press release in response to this ad... Heritage
Calls on Obama to Pull False Ads
Dear Senator Obama: Two recent campaign advertisements seriously misrepresent the views of my client, The Heritage Foundation. They suggest, quite falsely, that The Heritage Foundation and one of its analysts support your tax plan. The print ad on your [4] Website as well as your ad entitled "[5] Try This" reference a quote from policy analyst Rea Hederman. In fact, Mr. Hederman never said what is quoted there. Rather, the words you quote are from a [6] New York Sun reporter who interviewed Mr. Hederman and summarized his views erroneously. That the reporter's summary is erroneous is evident from the actual quotes from Mr. Hederman presented in the article, which make it quite clear that Mr. Hederman believes your tax plan would be bad not only for the country, but for the middle class. By omitting the direct quotes from Heritage that are contained in the article and attributing to Heritage a conflicting statement not made by its analyst, the advertisement appears to be an intentional attempt to mislead. Surely there can be no doubt within your campaign as to how Heritage truly views your tax plan. When one of your economic advisors, Jeffrey Liebman, made this same misrepresentation in a September 4, 2008 [7] letter to The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Hederman promptly sent a corrective and very public letter. It appeared in the September 16 issue of The Wall Street Journal under the title: "[8] A Bad Plan That Is Less Bad Is Still Not A Very Good Plan." In it, Mr. Hederman strenuously decried Mr. Liebman's blatant misrepresentation and set the record straight. The Heritage Foundation believes that your advertisements' use of its name is not only not a fair use of its intellectual property, but is an intentional attempt to mislead and misinform voters. As a responsible candidate, you should insist that your campaign cease to run these false advertisements immediately. Very truly yours, Alan P. Dye URLs in this release: [1] misrepresent the views of Heritage's Rea Hederman: http://blog.heritage.org/2008/09/10/obamas-half-truths-on-taxes/ [2] 30-second TV ad: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kp62bNLcGJc [3] campaign website: http://taxcut.barackobama.com/ [4] Website: http://taxcut.barackobama.com/ [5] Try This: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kp62bNLcGJc [6] New York Sun: http://www.nysun.com/national/obama-aides-say-he-would-lower-taxes/83970/ [7] letter to The Wall Street Journal: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122049208223297697.html [8] A Bad Plan That Is Less Bad Is Still Not A Very Good Plan: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122169737861450327.html |