FactCheck.org analysis of 2007 primary debates


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EXPLANATORY NOTE by OnTheIssues.org:

FactCheck.org analyses the veracity of statements made during political races. OnTheIssues.org summarizes two sets of analyses:
1. From debates and public speeches
2. From TV & radio advertisements

Following is the self-description of how FactCheck.org works:

[FactCheck.org is] a nonpartisan, nonprofit, "consumer advocate" for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. We monitor the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews, and news releases. Our goal is to apply the best practices of both journalism and scholarship, and to increase public knowledge and understanding.

The Annenberg Political Fact Check is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. The APPC was established by publisher and philanthropist Walter Annenberg in 1994 to create a community of scholars within the University of Pennsylvania that would address public policy issues at the local, state, and federal levels.

The APPC accepts NO funding from business corporations, labor unions, political parties, lobbying organizations or individuals. It is funded primarily by the Annenberg Foundation.

-- Jesse Gordon, jesse@OnTheIssues.org, November 2007

OnTheIssues.org excerpts:  (click on issues for details)

Abortion     Mitt Romney: FactCheck: TV ad ignores recency of conversion to pro-life.     Rudy Giuliani: FactCheck: Encouraged adoptions; but over-stated results.     Sam Brownback: FactCheck: Adult stem cell can’t replace embryonic stem cell.

Budget & Economy     John McCain: AdWatch: Outrageous to spend $233M for bridge to nowhere.     John McCain: FactCheck:Bridge-to-Nowhere never built; would serve 200,000.     John McCain: FactCheck: Criticized “Woodstock museum,” but skipped vote.     Fred Thompson: FactCheck: Correct that US has enjoyed 22 quarters of growth.     Rudy Giuliani: FactCheck: Hillary never called free market “destructive”.     Rudy Giuliani: FactCheck: 11% tax-burden decrease is correct but misleading.     Mitt Romney: FactCheck: Closed MA budget gap of $1.2B, not $3B.     Dennis Kucinich: FactCheck: military spending less than entitlement programs.     Mitt Romney: AdWatch: Cap discretionary spending at inflation minus 1%.

Corporations     Rudy Giuliani: FactCheck: Corporate tax cut would reduce revenue by half.     Hillary Clinton: FactCheck: Yes, Bush shrunk CPSC; but it shrank before Bush.     Fred Thompson: FactCheck: Yes, US corporate taxes are 2nd highest in world.

Crime     Rudy Giuliani: FactCheck: crime NOT at record high when Rudy took office.     Rudy Giuliani: FactCheck: NYC crime did drop, but others deserve credit too.     Rudy Giuliani: FactCheck: Hired 3,660 new cops, but took credit for 12,000.

Drugs     Rudy Giuliani: AdWatch: Got tough on drugs like meth in Massachusetts.     Rudy Giuliani: FactCheck: Romney’s tough-on-drugs meth bill never passed.     Joe Biden: FactCheck: 40,000 babies with alcohol syndrome, not 300,000.     Mike Gravel: FactCheck: Only 40% of inmates are black; not 70% as claimed.

Education     Bill Richardson: FactCheck: NM teacher salary only moved from 44th to 36th.     Bill Richardson: FactCheck: NM test scores have not made “enormous progress”.     Mike Huckabee: FactCheck: AR improved test scores, but still below-average.     Mitt Romney: FactCheck: US scores at 50% internationally, not 10%-25%.     Mitt Romney: FactCheck: MA 1st in test scores, but was 1st before Romney.     Rudy Giuliani: FactCheck: No, Hispanic K-12 test scores are rising.     Joe Biden: FactCheck: Japan pays teachers more, but not India & China.

Energy & Oil     Bill Richardson: FactCheck: Reducing GHGs by 90% costs households $800/yr.     John McCain: FactCheck: Oil independence will take 25 years, not 5 years.     Joe Biden: FactCheck: Oil did not jump $18/bbl due to Iran Resolution.     Chris Dodd: FactCheck: Two other candidates also call for carbon taxes.     Hillary Clinton: FactCheck: There was no Big Oil tax break under Bush-Cheney.     John McCain: FactCheck: nuclear plants do emit no GHGs, but do have waste.     Tom Tancredo: FactCheck: Global warming has dissent, but not 50-50 split.

Environment     John McCain: FactCheck: Criticized $3M “bear DNA” study, but voted for it.

Families & Children     Mitt Romney: FactCheck: Teenage birth rate declined from 1991 to 2005.     Sam Brownback: FactCheck:No 80% illegitimacy in countries with gay marriage.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: ‘Sex Ed for Kindergarten’ means ‘age-appropriate’.

Foreign Policy     Chris Dodd: FactCheck: No, Chinese government prosecutes slavery.     Hillary Clinton: FactCheck: Chinese did black out Hillary, but DID invite her.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Palestinian suffering from stalled peace effort.

Free Trade     Hillary Clinton: FactCheck: for NAFTA while First Lady; now against CAFTA.     Dennis Kucinich: FactCheck: NAFTA coincided with (not caused) peso collapse.     John Edwards: FactCheck: NAFTA did not cost US a million jobs.

Government Reform     Fred Thompson: FactCheck: supported some tort reforms; opposed others.     Rudy Giuliani: FactCheck: Thompson with GOP; not obstacle to tort reform.     Mitt Romney: FactCheck: 844 line item vetoes; but over 700 overridden.     Rudy Giuliani: FactCheck: Frivolous lawsuits don’t eat 2.2% of GDP.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: no lobbyist money; yes from bundlers who lobby.     Bill Richardson: FactCheck: 28 states have verified paper trails, not just 10.     Mitt Romney: FactCheck: Romney had 700 line-item vetoes, President cannot.     Tommy Thompson: FactCheck: Only improve CDC stockpiles; don’t eliminate them.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: no lobbyist money, yes from lobbyist spouses.

Gun Control     Hillary Clinton: FactCheck: VA Tech shooter not declared a danger to others.

Health Care     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Reducing obesity would save $18B, not $1T.     Bill Richardson: FactCheck: Between 7% and 31% of costs are administrative.     Mike Huckabee: FactCheck: 2/3 of uninsured can’t afford insurace, not 1/3.     Mitt Romney: FactCheck: MA employers have no mandates, but “requirements”.     Mitt Romney: FactCheck: No, MA healthcare plan is not paid for, yet.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Coverage plan might leave 8.5 million uninsured.     John Edwards: AdWatch: Universal health care by July 2009.     John Edwards: FactCheck: President cannot remove Congress’ health care.     Rudy Giuliani: AdWatch:Cancer survival rate 82% in US; 44% in socialized UK.     Rudy Giuliani: FactCheck:Cancer survival rate 74% in UK; not 44% as claimed.     Mitt Romney: FactCheck: HillaryCare closer to RomneyCare than “all gov’t”.     Mitt Romney: FactCheck: MA plan works, but Romney not proposing it for US.     Rudy Giuliani: FactCheck: No evidence that free market would halve premiums.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Correct that insurance lobbying cost $1B.     Dennis Kucinich: FactCheck:Insurance industry profit is under $97B, not $600B.     John Edwards: FactCheck: Plan costs $106B-$146B per year, not $90B-$120B.     John Edwards: Congress grants healthcare to all, or give up their own.     Tom Tancredo: FactCheck: Illegals use less medical care than citizens.     Bill Richardson: FactCheck: Correct that 33% of Medicare is diabetes.     Bill Richardson: FactCheck: AIDS rate in Africa is 5.8%, not 20% as claimed.     Hillary Clinton: FactCheck: Yes, AIDS is leading disease of young black women.     John Edwards: FactCheck: Medicaid already covers treatment for HIV/AIDS.     Mitt Romney: FactCheck: Romney plan virtually identical to Obama plan.     Mitt Romney: FactCheck: MA plan not yet in place so analysis premature.

Homeland Security     Hillary Clinton: AdWatch: Ensured health coverage for Guard & Reserve.     Hillary Clinton: FactCheck: Only BETTER health coverage for SOME Reservists.     Hillary Clinton: FactCheck: Yes, in 2006 condoned exceptions on torture.     Mitt Romney: FactCheck: Bush cut military budget as much as Bill Clinton.     Rudy Giuliani: FactCheck: Dems don’t say “Islamic” but do say “terrorism”.     Rudy Giuliani: AdWatch: Firefighters Union blames Giuliani for 9/11 deaths.     Rudy Giuliani: FactCheck: Radio failure PARTLY responsible for 9/11 deaths.     Mike Gravel: FactCheck: Yes, Iraq money could fund 21M scholarships.

Immigration     Mike Huckabee: FactCheck: Yes, supported scholarships for AR illegal aliens.     Mitt Romney: AdWatch: Huckabee ok’ed tuition & scholarships for illegals.     Mitt Romney: FactCheck: Took hard-line on illegals, but only late in term.     Tom Tancredo: Boycotted Univision debate because broadcast was in Spanish.     Joe Biden: FactCheck: 67% of illegal aliens speak Spanish; not 40%.     Mike Huckabee: FactCheck: AR college bill accepted illegals after 3 years.     Mitt Romney: FactCheck: Illegals employed at his home, but by contractor.     Rudy Giuliani: FactCheck: NYC acted like “sanctuary city”, in all but name.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Lightning IS likelier than employer prosecution.     Mitt Romney: AdWatch: No driver’s license & in-state tuition for illegals.     Mitt Romney: FactCheck: MA state cops never enforced immigration laws.     Mitt Romney: FactCheck: Took no action against 4 Mass. sanctuary cities.     Hillary Clinton: FactCheck: Denied saying licensing illegals “made sense”.     Rudy Giuliani: FactCheck: NYC not “sanctuary” but did welcome illegals.     Tom Tancredo: FactCheck: no plan exists to pay Social Security to illegals.     Duncan Hunter: FactCheck: Only 9 miles of fence in San Diego after 11 years.     Mitt Romney: FactCheck: NYC never declared itself a “sanctuary city”.     Rudy Giuliani: FactCheck: Feds deported 4,000 illegals in NYC, not 2,000.     Rudy Giuliani: AdWatch: New citizens must read, write, & speak English.     Rudy Giuliani: AdWatch: Deport convicted criminals who are illegal aliens.     Rudy Giuliani: FactCheck: English literacy already required for citizenship.     Tom Tancredo: FactCheck: McCain’s bill does not codify federal non-English.     Duncan Hunter: FactCheck: 854-mile fence shifted crime more than cutting it.

Jobs     Bill Richardson: AdWatch: Over 80,000 new jobs; NM 6th in nation.     Bill Richardson: FactCheck: NM gained 68,100 new jobs, not 80,000 as claimed.     Bill Richardson: FactCheck: NM ranks 17th in job growth; not 6th, as claimed.     Joe Biden: FactCheck: His AFL-CIO rating of 85% is not best of all Dems.     Mike Gravel: Claims 100% rating with AFL-CIO for full legislative career.     Mitt Romney: FactCheck: Yes,US added 50M jobs since ‘78; but EU added 36M.

Principles & Values     Rudy Giuliani: AdWatch: NYC was “most successful turn-around in 50 years”.     Mitt Romney: AdWatch: Stood up for conservatism in most liberal state.     Mitt Romney: FactCheck: VT would disagree that MA is most liberal state.

Social Security     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Removing $97,500 cap would be $1.3T tax increase.     Hillary Clinton: FactCheck: Yes, removing $97,500 cap affects middle-class.     Fred Thompson: FactCheck: Yes, inflation-index pushes imbalance years away.     Hillary Clinton: $1000 matching tax credit for first $1000 in 401(k) deposit.     Rudy Giuliani: FactCheck: Hillary never proposed giving $1000 to everybody.

Tax Reform     Duncan Hunter: FactCheck: Cost of IRS compliance is $150B,not $250B.     Mike Huckabee: FactCheck: FairTax would not eliminate IRS; just change role.     Rudy Giuliani: FactCheck: Cut NYC taxes by $5.4B, not $9B as claimed.     Fred Thompson: FactCheck: Top 40% do pay 99% of income tax, but not FICA.     Sam Brownback: FactCheck: Tax Freedom Day well before May for most people.     John McCain: FactCheck: Families spend $20B on tax prep, not $140B.     Rudy Giuliani: AdWatch: Cut or eliminated 23 NYC taxes; and created surplus.     Rudy Giuliani: FactCheck: Cut 14 NYC taxes, not 23 as claimed.     Joe Biden: FactCheck: Top 1% only got $67B in 2007 tax cuts, not $85B.     Mike Huckabee: FactCheck: FairTax requires 34% sales tax +$600B entitlement.     Mitt Romney: FactCheck: Did not raise MA taxes, but DID raise MA fees.

Technology     John McCain: FactCheck: Special interests only delayed HDTV transfer.

War & Peace     Fred Thompson: FactCheck: Said Saddam had WMDs, but not at 2003 invasion.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Yes, Obama said invade Pakistan to get al Qaeda.     Hillary Clinton: FactCheck: Correct that DoD has no plan to remove all troops.     Dennis Kucinich: FactCheck: $2 trillion for Iraq? High, but accurate estimate.     Mitt Romney: FactCheck: Saddam didn’t refuse UN inspectors prior to war.     Rudy Giuliani: FactCheck: Did say GOP is fundamentally irresponsible on war.     Dennis Kucinich: FactCheck: Iraqi oil production has fallen during war.

Welfare & Poverty     Hillary Clinton: Considered idea of $5000 at birth to pay for future college.     Rudy Giuliani: FactCheck:Hillary never proposed giving $5000 to every child.     Rudy Giuliani: FactCheck: 640,000 off welfare in NYC below national average.

Click for quotations from other sources by: Barack Obama Democratic President (elected 2008) Bill Richardson New Mexico Former Democratic Governor (2002-2010) and Cabinet Sec'y Chris Dodd Democrat Dennis Kucinich Ohio Democratic candidate for Governor Duncan Hunter Republican Fred Thompson Republican Hillary Clinton Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden Democrat John Edwards Democrat John McCain Republican Mike Gravel Democrat Mike Huckabee Arkansas Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney Massachusetts Former GOP Governor (2003-2006); Pres. candidate (2008) Rudy Giuliani New York Former Mayor of NYC Sam Brownback Kansas Republican Governor Tom Tancredo Colorado Republican Gubernatorial Challenger (withdrew) Tommy Thompson Cabinet-2005