YOUNGS TOWN, Ohio — Barack Obama criticized John McCain on Tuesday for taking a page out of “the Cheney playbook” on energy, overlooking his own support of oil-friendly policies the unpopular vice president helped to craft.
Obama sought to link the troubled economy with Republican policies and offer his own plan in contrast. He has tried to cast McCain as more concerned about oil profits and drilling than an overall energy strategy.
However, Obama voted for a 2005 energy bill backed by Bush that included billions in subsidies for oil and natural-gas production, a measure Cheney played a major role in developing. McCain opposed the bill on grounds 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.
