WATCH: Obama Releases Campaign-Style Ad Highlighting Tax Cut Promises
President Barack Obama has released a new web ad reminding Americans that raising tax rates on incomes over $250,000 was a central focus of his re-election campaign, and suggesting that — despite what the Republican Party now claims — voters gave Obama a mandate to do just that.
The ad — titled “What does $2,000 mean to you?” — begins with a graphic declaring “President Obama campaigned on a clear tax plan,” then shows clips from three separate campaign speeches in which Obama promises to extend the tax cuts affecting 98 percent of Americans, and end the tax cuts that only affect the wealthiest 2 percent. The issue has become the primary point of contention in the negotiations to avoid the so-called “fiscal cliff.”
The ad, which concludes by warning that “If Congress fails to act, a typical middle-class family of four would see its taxes go up by $2,200,” is a clear rebuke of Republicans such as Utah senator Orrin Hatch, who claimed in the GOP’s most recent weekly address that the White House’s economic proposal is a “classic bait-and-switch,” adding, “I don’t recall [Obama] asking for any of that during the presidential campaign.”
The ad also serves as further evidence that, although the campaign is over, Obama plans to keep making his case directly to the American people. In a clear sign that Obama’s campaign infrastructure is here to stay, the last 10 seconds of the ad are a solicitation for viewers to sign up for Obama for America email updates, and to donate to the campaign.
