Author Archives: Brooks Jackson

FactChecking Obama’s Address

We found no outright false factual claims in Obama’s State of the Union address, but we did note some that were arguable, and some promises that may prove unrealistic. He called his Race to the Top initiative “the most meaningful reform of our public schools in …
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Pawlenty’s Bailout Blarney

Once again we find that Tim Pawlenty has changed course on an issue that is something of a litmus test for Republican candidates. In this case, it’s government bailouts. On Jan. 16, he condemned all such bailouts, saying: "I don’t think the government should bail out Wall Street or the …
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Let the Distortions Begin

It has been seven whole weeks now since the midterms, and – like you, perhaps – we’ve enjoyed watching football and “Glee” uninterrupted by campaign ads. But that doesn’t mean there’s no campaigning going on. Potential Republican presidential aspirants …
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Obama’s Social Security Stumble

President Barack Obama rewrote the history of the Social Security system during a Dec. 7 press conference, claiming that only widows and orphans originally benefited from the program. Obama was defending a deal the administration reached recently with congressional Republicans to extend the Bush tax cuts for all Americans for …
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Blame Jane Falsehoods

Q: Is President Obama honoring Jane Fonda as one of the women of the century? A: No. That was done 11 years ago by Barbara Walters of ABC News.

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Sunday Replay

The first set of Sunday shows since the midterm elections featured a number of Republicans talking about how they’ll exercise their increased power. We’d just like to set the facts straight — on the budget, the health care law, taxes and other subjects. Democrats, too, weren’t immune from making a …
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NRSC Eliminates the Positive

Making an endorsement seem like a condemnation isn’t an easy deception to pull off — but the National Republican Senatorial Committee has done it. In an ad attacking Democratic Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, the NRSC uses a series of highly selective quotes from a Denver Post piece: Bennet is "fighting …
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Sunday Replay

This week, we find guests on the Sunday public affairs shows making false statements about disclosure of political funds, whether a Senate candidate pushed to have terrorists tried in his home state or favored letting states ban private health insurance, and whether middle-income families would pay more if the Bush …
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Sales Tax Spin

Democrats are running misleading ads in several House and Senate races accusing Republicans of supporting a “23 percent national sales tax.” The ads fail to mention that the proposed tax — while controversial — is designed to replace all federal income …
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Sunday Replay

Pity the poor politicians and spinmeisters who had to don suits in the middle of a long weekend and populate the talk shows. They were up to their usual tricks, though: One Republican operative wrongly implied a crime by the White House; several guests talked about the debt or deficit …
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