Author Archives: Justin Bank

McCain’s Record on Earmarks

Q: Has McCain ever made any earmarks? A: Not for fiscal year 2008 and never explicitly, though over the course of his career, there are several that might deserve the label.

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Gas Price Fixes That Won’t

Hillary Clinton and John McCain are offering overburdened motorists a federal “gasoline tax holiday.” But economists say that the proposal is unlikely to actually lower the price of gasoline. McCain’s plan would essentially give federal funds to oil refineries, while the net effect of Clinton’s plan probably wouldn’t be much at all, although it would create a lot of new administrative work.
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V.P. Term Limits

Q: Are there term limits for the vice president like there are for the president? Can they only serve two terms, too? A: No. In theory, someone could hold the office indefinitely, but no one has actually served more than two full terms.

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Replacing the Vice President

Q: If a vice president assumes the presidency, who becomes vice president? A: The new president appoints someone to fill his or her old position, subject to congressional approval.

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What is Triangulation?

Q: What is triangulation? A:  In simple terms, it’s Democrats advocating some Republican positions or Republicans advocating some Democratic positions.

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What Some CEOs Make in 10 Minutes

Q: Is Obama right to say some CEOs make more in 10 minutes than an average worker does in a year? A: By our calculations only Steve Jobs did so in 2006.

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Did Clinton Darken Obama’s Skin?

Obama supporters on the Internet are agitated over the apparent darkening of Obama’s image in a Clinton attack ad.Our video team took a look. Our conclusions: The Obama frames from the ad do appear darker than other video of Obama from the same event. However, the YouTube copy of the ad, on which the bloggers base their conclusions, is darker overall than other copies of the ad. We obtained a digital recording of the ad as it actually appeared on a Texas TV station, and it is lighter.
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World Trade Center Victims

Q: How many World Trade Center victims were from outside the U.S.? A: About 21 percent were born outside the U.S., but only 1 percent were residents of foreign countries.

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‘Dump Dennis?’

Former Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich is now fighting to hold onto his House seat in Cleveland, Ohio. He’s the target of a tough attack ad that says he “gives a lot of speeches” but “doesn’t get much done.” But the ad is a textbook example of deceptive political advertising – it uses dramatic-sounding numbers that, put into context, aren’t such a big deal after all
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John McCain’s Presidential Eligibility

Q: How can Panamanian-born McCain be elected president? A: Though born abroad, he is considered a natural-born U.S. citizen. FULL QUESTION: I understand John McCain was born in Panama. Doesn’t that make him ineligible to be president? I thought the Constitution said you had to have been born in a …
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