BEYOND PETROLEUM? ...a vote for Bush is a vote against yourself...

What is the deal with these constant commercials for BP and ExxonMobil (the one with the teapot)? Is it a response to the super-high gas prices? Is it a pre-emptive strike against proposals to move our energy economy away from oil?

These questions aren't just rhetorical--I really would like to know the answers. They're clearly image-building or image-mending devices. They aren't being used to sell anything but the supposedly environmentally-friendly practices each company has adopted.

The BP spots are particularly fishy. They show what the viewer is meant to assume are just average people on the street giving off-the-cuff, non-scripted answers to questions in the commercials. It's funny though, how each of these average people defend the "oil companies."

And the commercials run multiple times during pundit shows like Hardball, Hannity & Colmes, Lou Dobbs, etc...

I wonder what is going on...companies don't normally spend millions of dollars in ads just to point out how environmentally responsible they are...unless there's a damn good reason...also, let us always remember that the more a claim is repeated, the less likely it is to be true (i.e., "You're watching Fox News--fair and balanced" going into and coming out of what seems like every other commerical break).