Obama stating facts about energy problems

Obama links energy troubles to unpopular Cheney

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama sought on Tuesday to link the troubled economy with administration energy policies that he asserted Vice President Dick Cheney helped shape and rival Republican John McCain would continue.

"McCain has taken a page out of the Cheney playbook," Obama said as he stumped in this key battleground state.

With polls showing concern over gas prices a prime concern of Americans, Obama has been depicting energy as the nation's most pressing national security and economic issue. In that effort, he criticizes McCain as more concerned about oil company profits and drilling than an overall energy strategy.

However, Obama voted for a 2005 energy bill backed by President Bush that included billions in subsidies for oil and natural gas production, a measure for which Cheney played a major role. McCain opposed the bill, saying at the time that it included billions in unnecessary tax breaks for the oil industry.

The Obama campaign has said the Illinois senator supported the legislation because it included huge investments in renewable energy.

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