FactCheck.org

Rumsfeld on the World’s View of America

February 21, 2011

Donald Rumsfeld wrongly denied that the U.S. is viewed more favorably under President Barack Obama than it was under President George W. Bush. In fact, residents of several nations including Britain, Germany, France and China view the U.S. more favorably, according to a survey released last year by the Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project.
Rumsfeld, who served as Defense Secretary under Bush, told CNN’s Candy Crowley that he didn’t think there was any evidence to support claims that residents of other nations have a more favorable opinion of America than they used to:

Crowley,

Prison for Lying?

February 15, 2011

A former candidate is going to prison for lying — but not for lying to voters.
We’ve often pointed out that the First Amendment gives candidates the right to say pretty much whatever they want to voters — whether it’s true or not. That’s why we make it our mission to help voters sort out fact from fiction.
But on Feb. 14, a federal judge sentenced former House candidate Tan Nguyen to one year and one day in federal prison for lying —

Liberal Ads Oversell Health Care Law

February 11, 2011

A liberal group has launched several radio ads criticizing House Republicans who voted to repeal the health care law. But some of the claims lack needed context and may give listeners the impression that the law’s benefits are more extensive than they really are.
Americans United for Change produced the ads in conjunction with the liberal blogs the Daily Kos and Blue America, and so far, they target Reps. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, Charlie Bass of New Hampshire,

Rahm’s Plan: Tax Cut or ‘Largest’ Hike in History?

February 10, 2011

Rahm Emanuel and his leading opponent are airing less-than-truthful TV ads about taxes in the closing days of Chicago's Feb. 22 mayoral election.
In dueling ads, Emanuel and fellow Democrat Gery Chico spar over sales taxes. Emanuel says his plan will "lower taxes," and leave "more money in your pocket." But it will not lower taxes. The plan will lower the sales tax rate, but broaden the tax base to include as-yet undefined "luxury services."

Obama’s Tax Tale

February 7, 2011

During a Super Bowl XLV pregame interview with Bill O’Reilly of Fox News, President Barack Obama claimed that he "didn’t raise taxes once" during his first two years in office. Cigarette smokers and fans of indoor tanning may be among those to disagree with that statement.

O’Reilly, Feb. 6: Do you deny the assessment? Do you deny that you are a man who wants to redistribute wealth.
Obama: Absolutely.
O’Reilly: You deny that?
Obama: Absolutely. I didn’t raise taxes once,

FactChecking Dodgy British Claims

January 28, 2011

Every now and then, we like to check in on what our British cousin is up to, just to remind ourselves that Americans have no monopoly on political spin.
The FactCheck Blog is a project of a TV network, Channel 4 News, and it regularly skewers British politicians for false, misleading or exaggerated claims. It’s written by political correspondent Cathy Newman. The politicians’ names are different, but the issues and the malarkey will sound familiar.

The head of Britain’s biggest labor union claimed the United Kingdom’s budget deficit is "not high by either historical or contemporary standards.”

Schumer Exaggerates Proposed Defense Cuts

January 25, 2011

Democratic Sen. Charles E. Schumer of New York exaggerated Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ plan to cut military spending during an exchange with Bob Schieffer on “Face the Nation.”
Schumer criticized a group of conservative Republicans for proposing a bill to cut non-defense federal spending by $2.5 trillion through fiscal year 2021:

Schumer, Jan. 23: But for instance, they leave the military totally out. … But everyone knows there’s waste and inefficiency in the military budget. Defense Secretary Gates has proposed cutting a hundred fifty billion dollars out of it.

Job Loss, Health Care and Bankruptcy

January 25, 2011

Former Bush adviser Karen Hughes and Democratic Rep. James Clyburn both twisted facts to make partisan points on "Meet the Press."
Hughes claimed that the "vast majority" of recent job losses happened under President Obama, when in fact slightly more jobs were lost when her former boss George W. Bush was president. And Clyburn claimed that inadequate health insurance is "the biggest cause" of personal bankruptcies, which isn’t quite true either. Health costs are a contributing factor to most bankruptcies,

Pawlenty’s Bailout Blarney

January 24, 2011

Once again we find that Tim Pawlenty has changed course on an issue that is something of a litmus test for Republican candidates. In this case, it’s government bailouts.
On Jan. 16, he condemned all such bailouts, saying: "I don’t think the government should bail out Wall Street or the mortgage industry or for that matter any other industry." But back in 2008, when the sub-prime lending crisis was gathering force, Pawlenty said that some entities were "too big,

Pawlenty’s Political Climate Change

January 20, 2011

Likely GOP presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty's views on cap and trade aren't what they used to be.
Pawlenty told "Fox News Sunday" on Jan. 16 that he "never did sign a bill relating to cap and trade" when he was governor of Minnesota, but that's not true. He also said: "I've opposed cap and trade." However, that's been the case only since 2009.
In fact, the bill he signed in 2007 specifically required a task force to "recommend how the state could adopt"