Problem with Barack Obama's First General Election Ad

Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:

Resume Builder

Barack Obama's first general election ad says about 46 seconds in that the Illinois senator passed laws that "extended health care for wounded troops who'd been neglected."

The ad "Country I Love", which was released Friday, provides a citation at the bottom of the screen which reads "Public Law 110 - 181."

The problem is Senator Obama never voted for that legislation. Public Law 110 - 181 is part of the defense authorization bill which passed the Senate in January by a vote of 91 to three with six senators not voting. Barack Obama was among those six absent senators.

Turning Over a New Leaf

Nearly three years after FEMA was heavily criticized for its handling of Hurricane Katrina, many homeowners and politicians in the flood-stricken Midwest today say that the agency is doing a great job.

In Iowa, Indiana and Wisconsin, FEMA has received about 45,000 registrations for assistance, and has already doled out $81 million in emergency housing funds.

Iowa's Democratic Lieutenant Governor Patty Judge says FEMA had "people on site almost immediately after the flooding began."

And even some Democrats who rarely miss a chance to criticize the Bush Administration admit FEMA's response has been effective.

Missouri Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill says, "I think they've made a world of improvement both in terms of their preparedness and in terms of their attitude."

Drill Bits

California is considered by many to be one of the most environmentally-conscious states. But now a majority of residents there thinks that more off-shore oil drilling is a good idea.

A new Survey USA poll taken June 18 shows that nearly 60 percent of Californians questioned say current laws should be changed to expand drilling for oil in coastal waters. Just 33 percent think the laws should stay the same.

And among those who believe coastal drilling should be expanded, 48 percent say they recently arrived at this conclusion because of the price of gasoline.

Background Blunder

And finally, last week we quoted the Jerusalem Post in a story about Barack Obama's half brother, Malik Obama. The Post reported that in an interview with Israel Army Radio, Malik Obama said that his brother would be a good president despite his Muslim background.

It now turns out that The Post did not quite understand what Malik Obama was saying in the interview and paraphrased him incorrectly. Malik Obama did not say that his older brother has a Muslim background.

The Jerusalem Post has since removed the story from its Web site. We regret the error.

— FOX News Channel's Zachary Kenworthy contributed to this report.