One of Clinton’s signature claims has come under fire from political foes, quoted by the Boston Globe, who say she doesn’t deserve credit for expanding federal health insurance for millions of children. We review the record and conclude that she deserves plenty of credit, both for the passage of the SCHIP legislation and for pushing outreach efforts to translate the law into reality.
Month: March 2008
Are Obama and Cheney Related?
Q: Are Barack Obama and Dick Cheney cousins?
A: Yep. But they are quite distant relatives.
What Some CEOs Make in 10 Minutes
Q: Is Obama right to say some CEOs make more in 10 minutes than an average worker does in a year?
A: By our calculations only Steve Jobs did so in 2006.
Clinton vs. Bush: Middle Income Taxes
Q: Do middle-income persons pay lower federal income taxes under Bush than they did under Bill Clinton?
A: Yes, middle-income taxpayers pay less, but not nearly as much less as claimed in a widely circulated chain e-mail. Moreover, both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton propose additional middle-income cuts, contrary to what the message insinuates.
Hillary’s Adventures Abroad
Summary
On March 6 Hillary Clinton claimed that, unlike Barack Obama, she and likely Republican nominee John McCain have "cross[ed] the commander-in-chief threshold." In a CNN interview the day before, Clinton had listed five foreign policy accomplishments. We can’t determine how much behind-the-scenes work Clinton did while first lady, and she certainly took an active interest in foreign policy when her husband was president. Moreover, her time as first lady plus her longer Senate career do give Clinton more foreign policy experience than Obama.
Secret Service Paying Clintons’ Mortgage?
Q: Is the Secret Service paying the Clintons’ mortgage?
A: No. And Hillary won’t get a full-salary Senate pension, either.
Ohio Primary and the General Election
Q: Has any presidential candidate won the general election without winning the Ohio primary?
A: Yes. Richard Nixon did it in 1968, and John Kennedy in 1960. But "favorite son" candidates won the Ohio contest both those years.
McCain Voting With Democrats More Than GOP?
Q: Is it true that even though John McCain calls himself a Republican, he has sided more with the Dems than with the Repubs?
A: Not true at all. He voted in support of President Bush 95 percent of the time last year, for example.
Judgment Day in Wisconsin
Summary
Some of the hardest fought campaigns in 2008 will be to determine who sits on the highest courts in a number of states, courts where the stakes can be billions of dollars for corporations and insurance companies; millions in fees for trial lawyers; compensation for those who have been injured by negligence; or the liberty of individuals who have been convicted, rightly or wrongly, of crimes. In the past, some of those who would be state supreme court judges,
Violent Crimes and Handgun Ownership
Q: Are violent crimes more or less common in areas where handgun ownership is higher?
A: Some studies have found that murder rates (not crime rates in general) are higher where guns are more prevalent. But social scientists have not found a direct causal relationship between the two factors.