Q: Was Obama rude to wounded veterans during a visit to the National Naval Medical Center?
A: A chain e-mail that makes such a claim gets several facts wrong and is disputed by an official who was present at the meeting.
Person: Barack Obama
Campaigning on Single Payer?
On “Meet the Press” on June 28, former presidential candidate and Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney falsely claimed that President Obama had called for a “single-payer” health care system on the campaign trail:
Romney: President Obama, when he was campaigning, said he wanted a single-payer system.
We debunked this falsehood when Sen. John McCain said it during the third presidential debate. McCain claimed that “as he said, his object is a single payer system.” But as a presidential candidate,
Pushing for a Public Plan
Liberal groups have hit TV and radio with ads praising the idea of a public health insurance plan, an option that President Obama and other Democrats support as part of changes to the health care system. But the ads lack context and could well mislead the public: A TV ad …
500 Percent Ammo Tax?
Q: Is Obama planning to increase the federal tax on gun ammunition by 500 percent?
A: No such proposal has been made by the Obama administration. And nobody in Congress has introduced any bill to increase the 11 percent federal excise tax on ammo.
Reviewing Polls
Earlier this week we wrote about a television ad from Americans United for Change and found it to be misleading. The ad claimed that "a new poll shows that 62 percent of Americans support" President Obama’s "plan to reform health care." Americans United for Change disagreed with our analysis and Deputy Communications Director Lauren Weiner sent us an e-mail to say:
Weiner: Our "62%" ad is based on the Diageo/Hotline poll which asked voters if they supported Congress and the President enacting major overhaul of health care.
Third term for Obama?
Q: Is there a move to make Obama eligible for more than two terms as president?
A: A bill that proposes repealing the 22nd Amendment has been introduced, but so far it has very little support.
Liberal Ad Misleads with Poll Numbers
The liberal advocacy group Americans United for Change has released a new ad backing President Obama’s "plan to reform health care." According to the ad, "a new poll shows that 62 percent of Americans support" the plan.
But that’s misleading. The poll in question, conducted for Diageo/Hotline, didn’t ask respondents about a specific plan. Rather, it asked whether they supported or opposed a "major overhaul" of the health care system, without any specifics.
Diageo/Hotline Question: Do you support or oppose Congress and the President enacting a major overhaul of the U.S.
Obama’s Health Care Claims
We found several claims in Obama’s recent health-care sales pitches that could use some explanation or qualification. He said “the average family pays a thousand dollars in extra premiums to pay for people going to the emergency room who don’t have health insurance.” That’s from a recent report by …
Making Sense of Stimulus Spending
With the economy continuing to shed hundreds of thousands of jobs per month, Republicans are stepping up attacks on President Obama. They claim that the massive “stimulus” spending isn’t working very well. A Republican Party Web site classifies as “fiction” the president’s repeated claim that the spending already has “saved …
Obama & Naval Academy swords
Q: Did Obama order a "swordless graduation" at the U.S. Naval Academy?
A: This Internet scuttlebutt is false. Graduating midshipmen have gone without swords at graduation for decades, even when Bush and Cheney spoke.