FactCheck.org Author: Brooks Jackson

Obama’s Lame Claim About McCain’s Money

June 20, 2008

Summary

Obama announced he would become the first presidential candidate since 1972 to rely totally on private donations for his general election campaign, opting out of the system of public financing and spending limits that was put in place after the Watergate scandal.
One reason, he said, is that "John McCain’s campaign and the Republican National Committee are fueled by contributions from Washington lobbyists and special interest PACs."
We find that to be a large exaggeration and a lame excuse.

Obama’s Birth Certificate

June 16, 2008

Q: Has Obama’s birth certificate been disclosed?
A: Yes. His campaign made a copy public after speculation by conservative bloggers that he might not be a “natural-born citizen.”

McCain and the Gas Tax

June 11, 2008

Q: Do the poor drive farther than the rich, as McCain claims?
A: No. McCain is wrong when he claims repeatedly that low-income people drive more. In fact, the affluent drive twice as many miles.

Clinton and the Popular Vote

June 5, 2008

Q: Did Clinton win the popular vote?
A: Obama won more votes unless you count Michigan, where he wasn’t on the ballot.

Clinton Spins Her Donors

May 30, 2008

The debt-strapped Clinton campaign is appealing for money with an e-mail telling potential donors that polls “consistently” show she would beat McCain in November, and that she’s leading Obama in the popular vote. We find both claims are misleading. A number of recent polls actually show Clinton tied with McCain, or even trailing. For most of 2008, polls have shown McCain ahead.

Diesel Fuel and Gasoline Costs

May 26, 2008

Q: Why does diesel fuel cost more than gasoline?
A: The main reason is rising global demand, but new environmental restrictions and higher federal taxes also are factors.

Top 1%: What They Make and Pay

May 2, 2008

Q: What percent of taxes does the top 1 percent pay and what percent of the income do they make?
A: The top 1 percent of all households got 18 percent of all personal income and paid nearly 28 percent of all federal taxes in 2005, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The top 1 percent now pay a significantly larger share of taxes than before President Bush’s tax cuts,

Impact of Capital Gains Tax on the Middle Class

April 30, 2008

Q: Would raising the capital gains tax rate hit the middle class?
A: More than 80 percent of all capital gains income went to those making more than $200,000 a year in 2006. Very few making under $50,000 would be affected by any increase in the top capital gains rate.

“Reprehensible Misrepresentation”

April 24, 2008

Summary
Conservative activist Floyd G. Brown, who had a hand in the 1988 "Willie Horton" attack ad, is seeking funds to show a new spot accusing Obama of being "weak" on Chicago gang killers in 2001 and suggesting he’d be weak on terrorism, too. Brown bases the claim on Obama’s vote against a bill to make gang killers automatically eligible for the death penalty.

We find that the ad misses the mark. The anti-gang activist who sponsored the death-penalty bill tells FactCheck.org that she doesn’t consider Obama weak on crime despite his opposition to her proposal.

Counting Obama’s and Clinton’s Delegates

April 23, 2008

Q: Which is the correct delegate count for Obama and Clinton?

A: There’s no official count. Different news organizations and Web sites come up with slightly different estimates because the job is complex and involves a bit of guesswork.