English – Page 697 – FactCheck.org

FactChecking McCain

September 5, 2008

Summary
We checked the accuracy of McCain’s speech accepting the Republican nomination and noted the following:

McCain claimed that Obama’s health care plan would "force small businesses to cut jobs" and would put "a bureaucrat … between you and your doctor." In fact, the plan exempts small businesses, and those who have insurance now could keep the coverage they have.
McCain attacked Obama for voting for "corporate welfare" for oil companies. In fact, the bill Obama voted for raised taxes on oil companies by $300 million over 11 years while providing $5.8 billion in subsidies for renewable energy,

McCain’s Plane Crashes

September 5, 2008

Q: Did McCain crash five planes? Did he cause the 1967 Forrestal fire?
A: No. Chain e-mails and Internet postings that make that claim are mistaken. One crash was found to be his fault, but the Navy commended his piloting skills.

GOP Convention Spin, Part II

September 4, 2008

Summary
Sarah Palin’s much-awaited speech at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday night may have shown she could play the role of attack dog, but it also showed her to be short on facts when it came to touting her own record and going after Obama’s.

We found Rudy Giuliani, who introduced her, to be as factually challenged as he sometimes was back when he was in the race. But Mike Huckabee may have laid the biggest egg of all.

Maverick Misleads

September 4, 2008

Summary
McCain's campaign launched a TV ad touting his running mate, Palin, and offering a comparison to Obama. Some of its claims are off the mark:

It says Obama "gave big oil billions in subsidies and giveaways," citing his votes for a 2005 energy bill. But the bill slightly raised taxes on the oil industry overall.
The ad plucked a positive blurb about Palin from an Associated Press article that, in fact,

Hit the Brakes

September 3, 2008

Summary

A new Obama ad targeted to Michigan voters says McCain “refused to support loan guarantees for the auto industry.”
That was true, but it’s not now – and it wasn’t when this ad was made. Yet the ad doesn’t mention McCain’s changed position on government support for the carmakers.

Analysis
The Obama campaign ad, “Revitalize,” is running in Michigan, where the auto industry is on the ropes.

Obama for America Ad: “Revitalize”

GOP Convention Spin

September 3, 2008

Summary
Joe Lieberman and his former Senate colleague Fred Thompson both made misleading claims about Obama in their prime time GOP convention speeches on Tuesday. We’ve heard two of them before – many times.

Lieberman said Obama hadn’t "reached across party lines" to accomplish "anything significant," though Obama has teamed with GOP Sens. Tom Coburn and Richard Lugar to pass laws enhancing government transparency and curtailing the proliferation of nuclear and conventional weapons.
Thompson repeated misleading claims about Obama’s tax program,

A New Stitch in a Bad Pattern

September 2, 2008

Summary
McCain's new ad puts another stitch in what we've called his pattern of deceit on Obama's tax plan. This one claims Obama and congressional Democrats plan to push forward "painful tax increases on working American families" and that they will bring about "years of deficits," "no balanced budgets" and "billions in new government spending."
The ad is plain wrong about higher taxes on working families. In fact, Obama's economic plan would produce a tax cut for the majority of American households,

McCain’s First Marriage

September 1, 2008

Q: Did John McCain cheat on his first wife?
A: He courted his current wife, Cindy, for months before divorcing Carol Shepp in 1980. He recently called the breakup of his first marriage "my greatest moral failure." But Shepp has been quoted as saying "we are still friends."

Obama’s Kenyan Citizenship?

August 29, 2008

Q: Does Barack Obama have Kenyan citizenship?
A: No. He held both U.S. and Kenyan citizenship as a child, but lost his Kenyan citizenship automatically on his 23rd birthday.

FactChecking Obama

August 29, 2008

Summary
We checked the accuracy of Obama’s speech accepting the Democratic nomination, and noted the following:

Obama said he could “pay for every dime” of his spending and tax cut proposals “by closing corporate loopholes and tax havens.” That’s wrong – his proposed tax increases on upper-income individuals are key components of paying for his program, as well. And his plan, like McCain’s, would leave the U.S. facing big budget deficits, according to independent experts.