Piety & Power, by Tom LoBianco: on Energy & Oil

Mike Pence: AdWatch 1990: "Thanks, America, for buying so much Arab Oil"

On October 4, 1990, Pence let er' rip. "My people would like to thank you Americans for buying so much oil," Pence's Arab says. Then he clasps his ring fingers together, shakes them in the air, and exclaims ,"Oh thank you Phil Sharp!"

"Congressional candidate Mike Pence's television ad with the phony Arab is so bad it's perversely delightful," the Indianapolis Star declared. But protests crept up. Pence acted like nothing was wrong: "If I felt the ad was racist, or I felt it was playing to stereotypes, I wasn't going to run it. So, they made sure the dignity of Arabs was preserved. It does not invite you to laugh at Arabs, but it does invite you to laugh."