Author Archives: Lori Robertson

Some Old, Some New

Summary The Republican candidates aired their views, claims and criticisms in yet another debate. We found a few mistakes and questionable pronouncements: Rudy Giuliani said 2,000 illegal immigrants was the most the federal government deported from New York City during any of his years as mayor.  That doesn’t square with …
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Clinton Wrong on Cancer Stat

Summary Sen. Hillary Clinton used the wrong statistic in talking about cervical cancer today. She said that 500,000 women die from the disease worldwide each year. Actually, 250,000 do. Analysis The Lance Armstrong Foundation hosted a presidential forum on cancer issues for the Democratic candidates Aug. 27 in Cedar Rapids, …
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The Immigration Showdown

Summary In recent weeks, Republican presidential candidates Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney have sparred over their immigration records and policies. We find some problems with what both of them have been saying. Giuliani released a radio ad in which he says of persons applying for citizenship, "we should make certain …
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What is a Civil Union?

Summary When politicians say they support civil unions but not marriage for people of the same sex, what do they mean? We find three main differences between civil unions and marriage as it’s traditionally viewed: The right to federal benefits. States that allow some type of same-sex union are able …
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Sunday Morning Missteps

Summary The Republican presidential candidates debated – and sounded some more false notes: Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney falsely claimed U.S. job growth had been nearly 17 times faster than Europe’s. Actually, European Union employment grew faster than that of the U.S. last year. Romney’s source for the information told …
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GOP Candidates Debate, Round 2

Summary Claims, facts and figures flew at the second GOP presidential debate of 2008. Not all were true. For example: Mitt Romney claimed he didn’t raise taxes when he was governor of Massachusetts, failing to note that he increased government fees by hundreds of millions of dollars and shifted some …
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Republican Candidates Debate

Summary Ten Republican candidates for president debated at the Reagan Library in California, the first GOP debate of the 2008 campaign. Here and there we found stumbles, spin and exaggerations, just as we did at the Democratic debate a week earlier. Giuliani claimed that adoptions shot up 65 to 70 …
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Democratic Candidates Debate

Summary Eight Democratic candidates debated in South Carolina. We found some minor stumbles. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, explaining his call to show compassion for Palestinians, put a spin on the remark that differs from the way it was originally reported by an Iowa newspaper. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of …
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