Was Obama’s Red Cross Ad Designed to Dodge FEC Rules?

RedState.com ^ | November 05, 2012 | Jason Hart

[Steelfish]

Was Obama’s Red Cross Ad Designed to Dodge FEC Rules? PSA launched days before election resembles Obama stump speech

By: Jason Hart (Diary) | November 5th

An ad featuring President Obama released last week appears to have been produced with taxpayer funds, allowing President Obama to reach out to television viewers without adhering to strict federal disclosure rules for political ads. Following up on observations made by TownHall.com contributor Ron Meyer, Media Trackers has uncovered more questions than answers about the president’s recent public service announcement (PSA).

No Federal Election Commission (FEC) disclosure of who paid for the message was included in the commercial, although Meyer noted clear parallels between the PSA script and President Obama’s stump speech. General references to community and working together were accompanied by an assertion that “we have each other’s backs,” a phrase included almost verbatim in Obama’s 2012 State of the Union Address and afterward used in official campaign materials imploring supporters to “get his back.”

The phrase “We look out for one another” also appears in both the ad and a November 2 Obama campaign speech in Colorado.

According to the FEC, “electioneering communication” rules apply when:

The communication refers to a clearly identified federal candidate; The communication is publicly distributed by a television station, radio station, cable television system or satellite system for a fee; and The communication is distributed within 60 days prior to a general election or 30 days prior to a primary election to federal office.

[ilgipper]

Of course it was, just like the NFL ad all fall with Obama and Biden and a bunch of NFL players talking about protecting women. It is the Richard Daley, Chicago brand of politics. Use the public funds to place your name and your image on everything possible using the taxpayers dime.