Barack Obama Archives - Page 27 of 81

Homestretch Fact-Stretchers

October 22, 2012

In the homestretch to Election Day, both sides stretch the facts in their TV spots. President Obama greatly exaggerates his differences with Mitt Romney over troop withdrawals from Iraq and Afghanistan, while Romney repeats a false claim that the president plans a $4,000 tax increase on “the middle class.”
First the Obama ad, and its multiple exaggerations:
Iraq
The ad says, “President Obama ended the Iraq war. Mitt Romney would have left 30,000 troops there and called bringing them home ‘tragic.’”

Obama’s Drilling Denials

October 19, 2012

In a tense exchange during the Oct. 16 debate, President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney sparred over domestic oil and gas production on lands and in waters under the Obama administration’s control.
The facts, for the most part, are on Romney’s side.

Obama was wrong when he denied Romney’s claim that the Obama administration cut in half the number of new permits and new leases for offshore oil and gas drilling. The decrease is actually more than half.

Planned Parenthood and Mammograms

October 18, 2012

At the second presidential debate, President Barack Obama said that women “rely on” Planned Parenthood for mammograms. Actually, mammograms are not performed at the clinics; Planned Parenthood doctors and nurses conduct breast exams and refer patients to other facilities for mammograms. Individual clinics sometimes provide more than referrals, arranging for mobile mammography vans.
Obama said: “When Governor Romney says that we should eliminate funding for Planned Parenthood, there are millions of women all across the country who rely on Planned Parenthood for not just contraceptive care.

FactChecking the Hofstra Debate

October 17, 2012

The second Obama-Romney debate was heated, confrontational and full of claims that sometimes didn’t match the facts. Obama challenged Romney to “get the transcript” when Romney questioned the president’s claim to have spoken of an “act of terror” …

What’s Romney’s Plan for Preexisting Conditions?

October 11, 2012

The Obama campaign has repeatedly said that Mitt Romney was wrong when he claimed at the first debate that “preexisting conditions are covered under my [health care] plan.” We mostly agree. Romney’s comments implied that he would keep the provisions of the Affordable Care Act that guarantee coverage for all, regardless of preexisting conditions. But the campaign has given different explanations for what Romney meant, saying at first that he would leave it to the states and then saying he would expand federal law for those with “continuous coverage.”

Talking Tax Breaks for Offshoring

October 10, 2012

Q: Do companies get a tax break for shipping U.S. jobs overseas?
A: Not specifically for that reason. But companies can deduct business expenses, including the cost of moving a job to another state or even out of the country.

The ‘Facts’ According to Obama and Romney Ads

October 9, 2012

In dueling ads, the Obama and Romney campaigns claim the factual high ground on deficits and taxes while, ironically, distorting the facts.

An Obama ad uses a truncated quote that makes NBC’s Andrea Mitchell seem to contradict Romney’s statement that his tax plan doesn’t amount to a $5 trillion cut. In fact, she went on to say Romney “said again tonight that his plan would be paid for.”
A Romney ad claims Obama is “adding almost as much debt as all 43 previous presidents combined.”

Health Care Falsehoods on the Stump

October 8, 2012

On Connecticut Public Broadcasting, Managing Editor Lori Robertson talks about the off-base health care claims in President Obama’s and Mitt Romney’s stump speeches. Obama misleads on Romney’s Medicare plan, and Romney uses a false statistic about insurance premium increases.
For more on the candidates’ stump speeches, see “Romney’s Stump Speech” (Sept. 20) and “Obama’s Stump Speech” (Sept. 19).

Obama’s Numbers

October 8, 2012

For more than a year, we’ve been pointing out on a regular basis how President Obama, his allies and his critics all misuse or even fabricate statistics to give voters a skewed picture of reality. This time we’ll just offer the accurate numbers. Here — in a graphic …

Fact-Checking the Presidential Debate

October 4, 2012

FactCheck.org Director Brooks Jackson talks to WCBS radio about the false and misleading claims made by President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney in their first presidential debate. The candidates got the facts wrong on taxes, deficits, jobs and more.
For our full article on the debate claims, see “Dubious Denver Debate Declarations.”