Obama highlights Barton’s BP apology on campaign trail

Barton — the ranking Republican on the Energy and Commerce Committee — apologized to BP CEO Tony Hayward in June over White House pressure on the company to create a $20 billion claims fund for oil spill victims.

Barton retracted the comment under pressure from GOP leaders, but it was nonetheless a political gift to Democrats — one that Obama hopes will keep giving — in what’s shaping up as a tough election season for Obama’s party.

Democrats call the comment a sign of GOP deference to “Big Oil,” and references to the apology have become a staple of Obama’s political speeches.

He made similar comments Tuesday at a fundraiser for Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and at an Aug. 9 Democratic National Committee fundraiser in Austin, Texas, among other occasions.

At the Texas event, Obama said Barton apologized to BP “because we decided we needed to hold a company accountable for the environmental devastation and the economic devastation that had been caused in the Gulf.”