Six candidates — including debate newcomer Mike Bloomberg — squared off three days before the Nevada caucuses.
FactChecking the Las Vegas Democratic Debate
Issues: economic crisis
Bill Clinton’s Economic Exaggerations
Former President Bill Clinton — who will be called upon to help revitalize the U.S. economy if Hillary Clinton wins the presidency — made two inaccurate economic claims in a recent speech in Kentucky.
Car + Ditch=Blame
We’ve already written about the 17-minute Obama campaign film. But did you notice how narrator Tom Hanks portrays the president as being above finger-pointing politics, claiming Obama “would not dwell in blame” for inheriting a huge economic mess? We did.
Hanks, “The Road We’ve Traveled”: Not since the days of Franklin Roosevelt had so much fallen on the shoulders of one president. And when he faced his country, who looked to him for answers, he would not dwell in blame or dreamy idealism.
DSCC Wrong on Toomey’s Wall St. Experience
A Democratic Party ad says Republican Senate candidate Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania was a "Wall Street wheeler dealer" trading in financial products that "wound up nearly destroying our economy." We find that to be false.
The ad also falsely claims that Toomey "wrote the law" that it blames for weakening government oversight of Wall Street. Toomey, a former congressman, did have a hand in the legislation, but he was by no means its principal author.
Who Caused the Economic Crisis?
Summary
A MoveOn.org Political Action ad plays the partisan blame game with the economic crisis, charging that John McCain’s friend and former economic adviser Phil Gramm “stripped safeguards that would have protected us.” The claim is bogus. Gramm’s legislation had broad bipartisan support and was signed into law by President Clinton. Moreover, the bill had nothing to do with causing the crisis, and economists – not to mention President Clinton – praise it for having softened the crisis.
Keeping Quiet?
Summary
A new McCain-Palin ad says that "McCain and his congressional allies led" on the financial crisis while Obama was "mum." That's simply not true:
Obama has in fact made several statements about the crisis on Wall Street in recent days, delivering his most specific remarks on how government regulations should be changed on Sept. 22, a day before this ad was released.
McCain gave his most detailed speech on a response to the crisis on Sept.