- Feb 16, 2005
- 14,079
- 5,450
- 136
Just some more of the same misleading and blatant lies with just enough truth thrown in to make it believable by our fine senator from AZ.
The Statement
Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain, during a speech on October 16 outside Philadelphia, recounted the story of "Joe the Plumber," a man who held a conversation with Democratic candidate Sen. Barack Obama and who became the surprise star of the candidates' October 15 debate when McCain gave an account of the story. McCain said the man told Obama, "'Look, I've been working all my life ? 10, 12 hours. I want to buy the business I'm in, but you're going to raise my taxes.' And you know what Senator Obama had to say to Joe? He wanted to spread his wealth around. He wanted to spread his wealth around."
The Verdict:
Misleading. McCain's remark was an oversimplification of a five-minute-long conversation. Obama replied in great detail about his tax plan, and the "spread the wealth" remark was one small part of the conversation.
The statement:
At a campaign stop Monday in Columbus, Ohio, Sen. John McCain said Sen. Barack Obama "has proposed more than $860 billion in new spending."
Verdict:
Misleading. The figure McCain gave is based on his campaign's tally of the costs of numerous programs Obama has discussed, but ignores the savings from other policy changes Obama is calling for.
The Statement:
Speaking during a campaign stop Monday, Oct. 20 in Belton, Missouri, Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain criticized Democratic opponent Sen. Barack Obama's proposals on taxes. "The Obama tax increase would come at the worst possible time for America, and especially for small businesses like the one Joe dreams of owning," McCain said. "The small businesses Senator Obama would tax provide 16 million jobs in America."
The Verdict:
False. McCain uses an overly broad interpretation of the NFIB survey's figures ? applying Obama's tax plan to those figures in a way that is highly unlikely to match reality.
The Statement:
In an interview on Fox News' "Hannity & Colmes" on Wednesday, October 8, Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain repeated his assertion that Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama's tax plan "raises taxes on small business income."
The Verdict:
Misleading. While Obama's plan would increase taxes for an undetermined number of small business owners who pay their taxes through personal income tax and whose incomes exceed $200,000, it would not establish across-the-board tax increases for all small businesses
The Statement:
"First of all, Sen. Obama wants to raise taxes," McCain said in an interview on CNN's "American Morning" on Tuesday, Sept. 16. "I'm not going to raise anybody's taxes ? ."
Verdict:
TRUE, BUT INCOMPLETE
The Statement
Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain, speaking at the Wednesday, Oct. 15, debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, repeated a charge that his Democratic rival, Sen. Barack Obama, voted to raise taxes. "He voted twice for a budget resolution that increases the taxes on individuals making $42,000 a year," McCain said.
Verdict:
Misleading
The Statement
Speaking at a campaign event Wednesday, October 22, in Cincinnati, Ohio, Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain criticized the tax plan of his Democratic opponent, Sen. Barack Obama. "And by the way, this week we learned that Senator Obama is concerned that his plan is seen as welfare so he just added a work requirement," McCain said. "Thirteen days to go in the election and he changed his tax plan ? ."
The Verdict:
True.
The Statement
Speaking on Fox News's "Hannity & Colmes," Republican vice-presidential candidate Gov. Sarah Palin expanded a GOP attack that Democratic candidate Sen. Barack Obama's running mate said his presidency would invite international trouble. "And it wasn't just Biden making that comment," Palin said. "That was confirmed by former Secretary Madeleine Albright, where she said yes, she believes that Biden was just stating fact. Now, I don't want a president who invites that kind of testing."
The Verdict:
Misleading. Palin takes out of context part of a comment by Albright, who was actually praising Obama's ability to handle a crisis
The Statement:
At a debate Friday, Sept. 26, in Oxford, Mississippi, Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain attacked Democratic rival Sen. Barack Obama's stance on the "surge" of troops in Iraq. "Senator Obama said the surge could not work, said it would increase sectarian violence, said it was doomed to failure," McCain said. "Recently on a television program, he said it exceeded our wildest expectations."
The Verdict:
True, but incomplete. While acknowledging the surge's military success, Obama says the political goals it was meant to secure have not been met.
The Statement:
Sen. Joe Biden said at the Oct. 2 vice presidential debate that "our commanding general in Afghanistan said the surge principle in Iraq will not work in Afghanistan."
The Verdict:
True.
The Statement
Sen. John McCain, in a speech on September 21 to the National Guard Association of the United States, spoke about Iraq, citing his support of the "surge" and the strides it has fostered in the war. In the address, McCain repeated a statement that he made elsewhere that "victory in Iraq is finally in sight."
Verdict:
In Dispute. McCain, elated by Iraq strides, sees "victory in sight."
Top commanders and officials see great progress, but warn that hard-won
gains could easily be reversed.
The Statement:
Gov. Sarah Palin said at the October 2 vice presidential debate that Sen. Barack Obama "would be willing to meet with" Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad "without preconditions being met first."
Verdict:
Misleading. Obama has said that he is willing to meet with Iranian leaders, and that such a meeting "could include" Ahmadinejad. However, he has also specified that he does not consider Ahmadinejad to be Iran's most important leader, and he has not said directly that he would be willing to meet with the current Iranian president.
The Statement
Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, speaking at a rally on October 21 in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, criticized Democratic opponent Sen. Barack Obama's foreign policy judgment. "We've seen the wrong response from him over and over during this campaign. ? When Russia invaded Georgia, Sen. Obama said the invaded country should show restraint."
The Verdict:
Misleading. When the fighting erupted, Obama initially said both countries ? not just Georgia ? should "show restraint." But as facts emerged about Russia's actions, Obama's statements shifted to criticizing Russia
The Statement
In a campaign speech Wednesday, October 8, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain questioned Democratic opponent Sen. Barack Obama's foresight on the role of the troubled subprime lending sector in the recent financial crisis. "As recently as September of last year, he said that subprime loans had been ? quote ? 'a good idea,' " McCain said.
The Verdict:
Misleading.Obama did say subprime lending "started off as a good idea," but he was criticizing abuses in the sector. Based on his statements, he did not think they were a good idea last September, as McCain suggests.
The Statement
Sen. Barack Obama said at the Oct. 15 debate at Hofstra University that Republican opponent John McCain's plan to stem the mortgage meltdown "could be a giveaway to banks if we're buying full price for mortgages that now are worth a lot less. And we don't want to waste taxpayer money."
The Verdict:
True. The McCain campaign acknowledges the plan would shift the burden to taxpayers
The Statement:
At a campaign stop Friday, October 17, in Miami, Florida, Sen. John McCain said, "If I'm elected president, I won't make it harder to sell our goods overseas ? as Sen. Obama proposes. I'll open new markets to goods made in America and make sure our trade is free and fair."
The Verdict:
True, but incomplete. Obama's opposition to certain free trade agreements would make it harder for some U.S. exporters to sell their products, but only in some countries covered by those deals.
The Statement
In a television ad titled "New Energy" that was released in July but continues to run in swing states and on national cable networks, Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama's campaign says Republican rival Sen. John McCain and President Bush "support a drilling plan that won't produce a drop of oil for seven years."
The Verdict:
True. A federal economist says Obama's timeline is generally accurate.
The Statement
Republican vice-presidential candidate Gov. Sarah Palin, in an interview taped Oct. 8 and aired Sunday, Oct. 12, on Fox News' "Hannity's America," referred to Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama's stance on offshore High drilling and "clean-coal" technology. "That was kind of perplexing last night, listening to Barack Obama's position all of a sudden saying 'yay' to clean coal and perhaps 'yay' to offshore," she said. Palin said he's "so on record as having opposed" those technologies.
The Verdict:
False. Obama long has supported clean coal technology and more recently changed his stance on offshore oil drilling ? two months before the Oct. 7 debate referenced by Palin.
The Statement:
At a town hall meeting Wednesday in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Sen. John McCain repeated a standard line from his stump speech in support of nuclear power, telling voters that it's "clean and it's safe and we can recycle ? excuse me ? reprocess and we can store. My opponent is against nuclear power. ? "
Verdict:
False
The Statement:
In a set of radio ads aired Tuesday, September 30 in several battleground states, Republican Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign says Democratic opponent Sen. Barack Obama and his running mate, Sen. Joe Biden, are against "clean coal" technology. In "Clean Coal Colorado" a narrator says, "Obama-Biden and their liberal allies oppose clean coal. Listen to Joe Biden ? 'No coal plants here in America.' 'We're not supporting clean coal.'"
The Verdict:
Misleading. The partial Biden quotes that the ads use are accurate, but leave out the full context of his comments. The Obama campaign supports "clean coal" technology and building plants using the new technology.
.......................................................................................
For those of you keeping score at home
Misleading 9
True, but... 3
100% True 2
False 5*
*And 2 statements underlined are by either Senator Obama or Biden, and McCain uses these as talking points but he's flat out wrong, so I believe those would count as false.
So there you have it. 19 talking points and only 2 that are 100% true, how pathetic is that?
I just went over Senator Obamas closing speech and I got
100% True 6
Misleading 5
True, but... 2
False 3
So of the 16 points they chose to fact check 6 were 100% true, quite a bit higher percentage wise. I am not naive, I know all/most politicians lie to some level to get into office, but when only 15% of your closing points are true it's very clear why you feel the need to go negative.
d'oh! Forget the linkage
insert air quotes here
The Statement
Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain, during a speech on October 16 outside Philadelphia, recounted the story of "Joe the Plumber," a man who held a conversation with Democratic candidate Sen. Barack Obama and who became the surprise star of the candidates' October 15 debate when McCain gave an account of the story. McCain said the man told Obama, "'Look, I've been working all my life ? 10, 12 hours. I want to buy the business I'm in, but you're going to raise my taxes.' And you know what Senator Obama had to say to Joe? He wanted to spread his wealth around. He wanted to spread his wealth around."
The Verdict:
Misleading. McCain's remark was an oversimplification of a five-minute-long conversation. Obama replied in great detail about his tax plan, and the "spread the wealth" remark was one small part of the conversation.
The statement:
At a campaign stop Monday in Columbus, Ohio, Sen. John McCain said Sen. Barack Obama "has proposed more than $860 billion in new spending."
Verdict:
Misleading. The figure McCain gave is based on his campaign's tally of the costs of numerous programs Obama has discussed, but ignores the savings from other policy changes Obama is calling for.
The Statement:
Speaking during a campaign stop Monday, Oct. 20 in Belton, Missouri, Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain criticized Democratic opponent Sen. Barack Obama's proposals on taxes. "The Obama tax increase would come at the worst possible time for America, and especially for small businesses like the one Joe dreams of owning," McCain said. "The small businesses Senator Obama would tax provide 16 million jobs in America."
The Verdict:
False. McCain uses an overly broad interpretation of the NFIB survey's figures ? applying Obama's tax plan to those figures in a way that is highly unlikely to match reality.
The Statement:
In an interview on Fox News' "Hannity & Colmes" on Wednesday, October 8, Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain repeated his assertion that Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama's tax plan "raises taxes on small business income."
The Verdict:
Misleading. While Obama's plan would increase taxes for an undetermined number of small business owners who pay their taxes through personal income tax and whose incomes exceed $200,000, it would not establish across-the-board tax increases for all small businesses
The Statement:
"First of all, Sen. Obama wants to raise taxes," McCain said in an interview on CNN's "American Morning" on Tuesday, Sept. 16. "I'm not going to raise anybody's taxes ? ."
Verdict:
TRUE, BUT INCOMPLETE
The Statement
Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain, speaking at the Wednesday, Oct. 15, debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, repeated a charge that his Democratic rival, Sen. Barack Obama, voted to raise taxes. "He voted twice for a budget resolution that increases the taxes on individuals making $42,000 a year," McCain said.
Verdict:
Misleading
The Statement
Speaking at a campaign event Wednesday, October 22, in Cincinnati, Ohio, Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain criticized the tax plan of his Democratic opponent, Sen. Barack Obama. "And by the way, this week we learned that Senator Obama is concerned that his plan is seen as welfare so he just added a work requirement," McCain said. "Thirteen days to go in the election and he changed his tax plan ? ."
The Verdict:
True.
The Statement
Speaking on Fox News's "Hannity & Colmes," Republican vice-presidential candidate Gov. Sarah Palin expanded a GOP attack that Democratic candidate Sen. Barack Obama's running mate said his presidency would invite international trouble. "And it wasn't just Biden making that comment," Palin said. "That was confirmed by former Secretary Madeleine Albright, where she said yes, she believes that Biden was just stating fact. Now, I don't want a president who invites that kind of testing."
The Verdict:
Misleading. Palin takes out of context part of a comment by Albright, who was actually praising Obama's ability to handle a crisis
The Statement:
At a debate Friday, Sept. 26, in Oxford, Mississippi, Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain attacked Democratic rival Sen. Barack Obama's stance on the "surge" of troops in Iraq. "Senator Obama said the surge could not work, said it would increase sectarian violence, said it was doomed to failure," McCain said. "Recently on a television program, he said it exceeded our wildest expectations."
The Verdict:
True, but incomplete. While acknowledging the surge's military success, Obama says the political goals it was meant to secure have not been met.
The Statement:
Sen. Joe Biden said at the Oct. 2 vice presidential debate that "our commanding general in Afghanistan said the surge principle in Iraq will not work in Afghanistan."
The Verdict:
True.
The Statement
Sen. John McCain, in a speech on September 21 to the National Guard Association of the United States, spoke about Iraq, citing his support of the "surge" and the strides it has fostered in the war. In the address, McCain repeated a statement that he made elsewhere that "victory in Iraq is finally in sight."
Verdict:
In Dispute. McCain, elated by Iraq strides, sees "victory in sight."
Top commanders and officials see great progress, but warn that hard-won
gains could easily be reversed.
The Statement:
Gov. Sarah Palin said at the October 2 vice presidential debate that Sen. Barack Obama "would be willing to meet with" Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad "without preconditions being met first."
Verdict:
Misleading. Obama has said that he is willing to meet with Iranian leaders, and that such a meeting "could include" Ahmadinejad. However, he has also specified that he does not consider Ahmadinejad to be Iran's most important leader, and he has not said directly that he would be willing to meet with the current Iranian president.
The Statement
Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, speaking at a rally on October 21 in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, criticized Democratic opponent Sen. Barack Obama's foreign policy judgment. "We've seen the wrong response from him over and over during this campaign. ? When Russia invaded Georgia, Sen. Obama said the invaded country should show restraint."
The Verdict:
Misleading. When the fighting erupted, Obama initially said both countries ? not just Georgia ? should "show restraint." But as facts emerged about Russia's actions, Obama's statements shifted to criticizing Russia
The Statement
In a campaign speech Wednesday, October 8, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain questioned Democratic opponent Sen. Barack Obama's foresight on the role of the troubled subprime lending sector in the recent financial crisis. "As recently as September of last year, he said that subprime loans had been ? quote ? 'a good idea,' " McCain said.
The Verdict:
Misleading.Obama did say subprime lending "started off as a good idea," but he was criticizing abuses in the sector. Based on his statements, he did not think they were a good idea last September, as McCain suggests.
The Statement
Sen. Barack Obama said at the Oct. 15 debate at Hofstra University that Republican opponent John McCain's plan to stem the mortgage meltdown "could be a giveaway to banks if we're buying full price for mortgages that now are worth a lot less. And we don't want to waste taxpayer money."
The Verdict:
True. The McCain campaign acknowledges the plan would shift the burden to taxpayers
The Statement:
At a campaign stop Friday, October 17, in Miami, Florida, Sen. John McCain said, "If I'm elected president, I won't make it harder to sell our goods overseas ? as Sen. Obama proposes. I'll open new markets to goods made in America and make sure our trade is free and fair."
The Verdict:
True, but incomplete. Obama's opposition to certain free trade agreements would make it harder for some U.S. exporters to sell their products, but only in some countries covered by those deals.
The Statement
In a television ad titled "New Energy" that was released in July but continues to run in swing states and on national cable networks, Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama's campaign says Republican rival Sen. John McCain and President Bush "support a drilling plan that won't produce a drop of oil for seven years."
The Verdict:
True. A federal economist says Obama's timeline is generally accurate.
The Statement
Republican vice-presidential candidate Gov. Sarah Palin, in an interview taped Oct. 8 and aired Sunday, Oct. 12, on Fox News' "Hannity's America," referred to Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama's stance on offshore High drilling and "clean-coal" technology. "That was kind of perplexing last night, listening to Barack Obama's position all of a sudden saying 'yay' to clean coal and perhaps 'yay' to offshore," she said. Palin said he's "so on record as having opposed" those technologies.
The Verdict:
False. Obama long has supported clean coal technology and more recently changed his stance on offshore oil drilling ? two months before the Oct. 7 debate referenced by Palin.
The Statement:
At a town hall meeting Wednesday in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Sen. John McCain repeated a standard line from his stump speech in support of nuclear power, telling voters that it's "clean and it's safe and we can recycle ? excuse me ? reprocess and we can store. My opponent is against nuclear power. ? "
Verdict:
False
The Statement:
In a set of radio ads aired Tuesday, September 30 in several battleground states, Republican Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign says Democratic opponent Sen. Barack Obama and his running mate, Sen. Joe Biden, are against "clean coal" technology. In "Clean Coal Colorado" a narrator says, "Obama-Biden and their liberal allies oppose clean coal. Listen to Joe Biden ? 'No coal plants here in America.' 'We're not supporting clean coal.'"
The Verdict:
Misleading. The partial Biden quotes that the ads use are accurate, but leave out the full context of his comments. The Obama campaign supports "clean coal" technology and building plants using the new technology.
.......................................................................................
For those of you keeping score at home
Misleading 9
True, but... 3
100% True 2
False 5*
*And 2 statements underlined are by either Senator Obama or Biden, and McCain uses these as talking points but he's flat out wrong, so I believe those would count as false.
So there you have it. 19 talking points and only 2 that are 100% true, how pathetic is that?
I just went over Senator Obamas closing speech and I got
100% True 6
Misleading 5
True, but... 2
False 3
So of the 16 points they chose to fact check 6 were 100% true, quite a bit higher percentage wise. I am not naive, I know all/most politicians lie to some level to get into office, but when only 15% of your closing points are true it's very clear why you feel the need to go negative.
d'oh! Forget the linkage
insert air quotes here