This is fascinating — the Obama campaign is either tremendously gutsy or tremendously stupid, asking gas stations to run advertising that trashes their suppliers, oil companies.

Gas Station TV, which provides video content on gas pumps around the country, decided against running an ad for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama Wednesday saying it’s decided to stay politically neutral. At the same time, however, Obama campaign staffers are telling media they believe the refusal had more to do with the content of the ads — which attacked oil companies for creating high gasoline prices — than for simply staying away from politics. “Gas Station TV was considering running political ads, and we have been approached by a few campaigns,” said David Leider, chief executive officer of Gas Station TV in a statement to the media. “We have made a conscious decision not to run political ads on our network, including the Obama campaign.” But the Obama camp in Tampa Wednesday wasn’t buying it, saying the decision was one more favorable to Obama’s Nov. 4 opponent, Republican John McCain.

I can understand Team Obama’s frustration with the rejection, but it takes a lot of nerve — or perhaps arrogance — to ask a small businessman to run advertising that essentially says, “my suppliers are a bunch of greedy jerks.”

You know, if you created an ad saying that the major television networks stink, I think the major television networks might be less than eager to run it.