Obama supporters on the Internet are agitated over the apparent darkening of Obama’s image in a Clinton attack ad.Our video team took a look. Our conclusions: The Obama frames from the ad do appear darker than other video of Obama from the same event. However, the YouTube copy of the ad, on which the bloggers base their conclusions, is darker overall than other copies of the ad. We obtained a digital recording of the ad as it actually appeared on a Texas TV station, and it is lighter.
Stories by Emi Kolawole
Oil and Gas Company Tax Breaks
Q: What kind of tax breaks does the U.S. give to oil companies and to corporations that send jobs overseas?
A: Companies with overseas subsidiaries can keep their income untaxed by the IRS if they don’t transfer that revenue back to the U.S. Oil and gas companies received tax breaks and subsidies from a 2005 energy bill, but the bill led to a net tax increase for them.
You’ve Got Mailers!
A direct-mail piece sent to voters by the Clinton campaign twists Obama’s words and gives a false picture of his proposals: It says he “wants to raise Social Security taxes by a trillion dollars,” a big distortion. Obama has said a “good option” would be to apply Social Security payroll taxes to incomes over $97,500 a year, but that would only affect taxes paid by 6.5 percent of individuals and couples. And he hasn’t formally proposed such a move anyway.
Exaggerating Help for Troops
Clinton falsely claims guardsmen and reservists didn’t have health insurance before she went to work.
Richardson Flunks Two Subjects
Summary
Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson, governor of New Mexico, has claimed again and again U.S. students, from kindergarten through 12th grade, are ranked 29th in the world in math and science. He claims they used to be No. 1, too. But none of that is true.
The two leading international assessments of student achievement rank U.S. students better in all cases, and in most cases much better, than Richardson claims. Furthermore, neither of them even tries to cover all grades K through 12.
Overspiced Louisiana Gumbo
Summary
The Louisiana Democratic Party is serving up a hard-to-stomach mix of exaggeration, mischaracterization and falsehood against Republican candidate Bobby Jindal, who’s running for governor in a contest that could be decided in October.
We found these items floating in the stew:
One ad falsely claims Jindal "supported raising the Medicare eligibility age." The proposal actually came from former Democratic Sen. John Breaux, not Jindal.
The same ad claims Jindal, a member of the House of Representatives,
Audacious Ethanol Hopes?
Gas prices have hit record highs this year as 2008 presidential candidates outline their hopes for renewable fuels. In this story, we take a look at the reality.
Hurting the Troops?
Well over a dozen Democratic ads claim incumbent GOP lawmakers voted against benefits and funding for the nation’s military.
Accusations Without Evidence and Moldy Bunk in Virginia
An ad sponsored by Republican Sen. George Allen’s campaign features an undocumented accusation against Democratic challenger Jim Webb.
Cute Puppy or Red Herring?
GOP candidate Michael Steele misleadingly accuses Democratic Rep. Ben Cardin of taking “money from special interests” and then voting against importing cheaper prescription drugs from Canada.