I thought the debate was pretty good last night. There was definitely some thought-provoking things said but also some misleading things said. So, here is the fact check for last nights debates brought to you by FactCheck.org.
Sorting out fact and fiction in the presidential candidates' final debate.SummarySpin and hype were apparent, once again, at the third and final debate between McCain and Obama:
- McCain claimed the liberal
group ACORN “is now on the verge of maybe perpetrating one of the
greatest frauds in voter history ... maybe destroying the fabric of democracy.”
In fact, a Republican prosecutor said of the first and biggest ACORN
fraud case: “[T]his scheme was not intended to permit illegal voting.”
He said $8-an-hour workers turned in made-up voter registration forms
rather than doing what ACORN paid them to do.
- McCain said “Joe the plumber”
faced “much higher taxes” under Obama’s tax plan and would pay a fine
under Obama’s health care plan if he failed to provide coverage for his
workers. But Ohio plumber Joe Wurzelbacher would pay higher taxes only
if the business he says he wants to buy puts his income over $200,000 a
year, and his small business would be exempt from Obama’s requirement
to provide coverage for workers.
- Obama repeated a dubious claim
that his health care plan will cut the average family’s premiums by
$2,500 a year. Experts have found that figure to be overly optimistic.
- McCain claimed that Obama’s
real “object” is a government-run, single-payer health insurance system
like those in Canada or England. The McCain campaign points to a quote
from five years ago, when Obama told a labor gathering that he was “a
proponent of a single-payer health care program.” But Obama has since
qualified his enthusiasm for Canadian-style health care, and his
current proposal is nothing like that.
- Obama incorrectly claimed all
of McCain’s ads had been “negative.” That was true for one recent week,
but not over the entire campaign. And at times Obama has run a higher
percentage of attack ads than McCain.
- McCain
described Colombia as the "largest agricultural importer of our
products." Actually, Canada imports the most U.S. farm products, and
Colombia is far down the list.
- Obama strained to portray
himself as willing to break ranks with fellow Democrats. His prime
example was his vote for a bill that was supported by 18 Democrats and
opposed by 26. Congressional Quarterly rates him as voting with his
party 97 percent of the time since becoming a U.S. senator.
For details on these and other misleading claims, please read on to the Analysis section.
|
