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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

Bush Still Fudging the Numbers on Kerry’s Tax Votes

The Bush-Cheney campaign released a television ad August 23 accusing Kerry of casting “98 votes for tax increases.” The number is an improvement on Bush’s earlier claim that Kerry cast 350 votes for “higher taxes,” which we described as inflated. But even the new, reduced total is padded.

Bush Nails Kerry’s Poor Attendance at Intelligence Committee Hearings

Summary
A Bush-Cheney ’04 ad released Aug. 13 accuses Kerry of being absent for 76% of the Senate Intelligence Committee’s public hearings during the time he served there. The Kerry campaign calls the ad “misleading,” so we checked, and Bush is right.
Official records show Kerry not present for at least 76% of public hearings held during his eight years on the panel, and possibly 78% (the record of one hearing is ambiguous).
Kerry points out that most meetings of the Intelligence Committee are closed and attendance records of those meetings aren’t public,

Kerry “Paperwork” Ad: Accurate

Kerry ad says medical paperwork costs hundreds of billions and his plan could save money. He’s right. But what about the expense?