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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

Tag: Elections 2004

Distortions Galore at Second Presidential Debate

October 9, 2004

Both candidates played loose with the facts at the second Presidential Debate in St. Louis Oct. 8. We offer a sampler of the dubious and sometimes false statements made by each of the candidates.

Bush Mischaracterizes Kerry’s Health Plan

October 4, 2004

A Bush ad claims Kerry’s healthcare proposals would put “big government in charge” of medical decisions. In fact, Kerry’s plan would leave 97% with the insurance they have now — while up to 27 million who aren’t insured would gain coverage.

Kerry Ad Falsely Accuses Cheney on Halliburton

September 30, 2004

A Kerry ad implies Cheney has a financial interest in Halliburton and is profiting from the company’s contracts in Iraq. The fact is, Cheney doesn’t gain a penny from Halliburton’s contracts, and almost certainly won’t lose even if Halliburton goes bankrupt.

The “Willie Horton” Ad Of 2004?

September 28, 2004

Republican group’s ad shows Osama, Kerry. It appeals to fear, and twists Kerry’s record on defense, intelligence, Iraq.

Are Bush and Cheney “Small Businesses?” Their Ad Counts Them As Such

September 23, 2004

A Bush-Cheney ’04 ad claims Kerry would raise taxes on 900,000 small businesses and “hurt jobs.” But it counts every high-salaried person who has even $1 of outside business income as a “small business owner” — a definition so broad that even Bush and Cheney have qualified while in office,

Bush Still Fudging the Numbers on Kerry’s Tax Votes

August 30, 2004

The Bush-Cheney campaign released a television ad August 23 accusing Kerry of casting “98 votes for tax increases.” The number is an improvement on Bush’s earlier claim that Kerry cast 350 votes for “higher taxes,” which we described as inflated. But even the new, reduced total is padded.