In a July 6 article that had been featured on the front page of the Politico website, writer Mike Allen reported on the content of a Republican National Committee attack ad against Sen. Barack Obama called “Balance,” yet failed to report the Obama campaign's response. The article, which was originally posted at 10:55 a.m. ET on July 6, included the full transcript of the ad:

“Record gas prices, a climate in crisis. John McCain says solve it now. With a balanced plan -- alternative energy, conservation, suspending the gas tax AND more production here at home. He's pushing his own party to face climate change. But Barack Obama? For conservation, but he just says no to lower gas taxes. No to nuclear. No to more production. No new solutions. Barack Obama: Just the party line. The Republican National Committee is responsible for the content of this advertising.”

The Obama campaign reportedly responded to the ad before Allen's article was first posted on Politico.com. In a post on The Washington Post blog The Fix dated 10:08 a.m. ET on July 6, washingtonpost.com's Chris Cillizza reported that Obama spokesperson Hari Sevugan responded to the ad with "[a] stunned skepticism," saying, “What we need to solve our energy crisis is an honest debate about the choices before us, not more attack ads that mislead voters about the facts.”

The New York Times blog The Caucus reported Sevugan's full statement regarding the ad in a post dated 11:10 a.m. ET on July 6:

“What we need to solve our energy crisis is an honest debate about the choices before us, not more attack ads that mislead voters about the facts,” said Hari Sevugan, a spokesman. “There's a real choice in this election between John McCain's promise to continue the Bush approach of trying to drill our way out of our energy crisis - which even he admits won't lower prices this summer - or Barack Obama's plan to provide meaningful short-term relief for our families and to make a historic investment in alternative energy development that will create millions of new jobs, keep the cost of energy affordable and secure our energy independence once and for all.”

Moreover, Politico senior political writer Jonathan Martin reported the Obama campaign's response to the ad in a post at 12:00 p.m. on July 6 on his Politico.com blog, but as of this posting, Allen's article has not been updated.

From Politico.com:

From Allen's article:

An independent-expenditure arm of the Republican National Committee has begun a 10-day, $3 million ad campaign in swing states attacking Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) as “just the party line.”

The 30-second ad, called “Balance,” is read by a narrator and focuses on energy at a time when gas prices are the top issue on voters' minds.

The script: “Record gas prices, a climate in crisis. John McCain says solve it now. With a balanced plan -- alternative energy, conservation, suspending the gas tax AND more production here at home. He's pushing his own party to face climate change.

”But Barack Obama? For conservation, but he just says no to lower gas taxes. No to nuclear. No to more production. No new solutions. Barack Obama: Just the party line. The Republican National Committee is responsible for the content of this advertising."

The ad first aired during Saturday night baseball games, and is airing in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. It continues through July 15.