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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

Person: Mitt Romney

Spinning Romney’s Debt

Spinning Romney’s Debt
June 13, 2012

An ad from the Obama campaign claims Massachusetts ranked No. 1 in state debt per person when Mitt Romney was governor. It’s true, but there’s less there than meets the eye. Massachusetts has historically been a high-debt state. Massachusetts has ranked either first or second in debt per capita in each of the past 11 years. It was second when Romney took office, not a far leap to first place. One could even argue that Romney slowed the growth rate of long-term debt compared with the four years before he took office.

Romney’s Jobs Record Is Best (or Worst)

Romney’s Jobs Record Is Best (or Worst)
June 8, 2012

A campaign ad that praises Mitt Romney’s performance as governor of Massachusetts presents a slanted view of his record on jobs, unemployment and taxes. To every claim, there is a “yes, but” qualifier.

The Romney ad claims that as governor, “Romney had the best jobs record in a decade.” Yes — Massachusetts added more net jobs during Romney’s four years in office than during the four-year period of either his predecessor or successor. But — that ignores the national recessions before and after Romney’s time in office.

Obama Twists Romney’s Economic Record

Obama Twists Romney’s Economic Record
June 7, 2012

A new ad from the Obama campaign takes aim at Mitt Romney’s performance as governor of Massachusetts, claiming he had “one of the worst economic records in the country.” But the ad overreaches with several of its claims. The ad states that job creation …

Obama’s Spending: ‘Inferno’ or Not?

Obama’s Spending: ‘Inferno’ or Not?
June 4, 2012

Is President Obama’s spending an “inferno,” as Mitt Romney claims, or a binge that “never happened” as an analysis touted by the White House concluded? We judge that both of those claims are wrong on the facts. The truth is that the nearly 18 percent spike in spending …

Romney’s Solar Flareout

Romney’s Solar Flareout
June 1, 2012

An ad from the Romney campaign strains facts to make its point that federal grants and loans to green-energy companies were improperly steered to Obama’s political backers, and that federal money was wasted on failing companies that are now laying off employees. It claims the “inspector general said …

More Government Takeover Spin

May 31, 2012

Mitt Romney counts both public and private health care spending to come up with the exaggeration that government will make up “almost 50 percent” of the U.S. economy once the federal health care is fully in effect.
See our May 10 article, “Romney’s ‘Gross’ Exaggeration on ‘Obamacare,’ ” for more.

Massachusetts Health Care Overhaul

May 30, 2012

The Massachusetts health care law signed by then-Gov. Mitt Romney did not create a “government-run” system, as some critics have said. But Romney wrongly claims everyone under his law was covered by private insurance, ignoring his own expansion of Medicaid.
Read more in our Jan. 20 article, “South Carolina Smackdown.”

Gillespie Twists the Facts on Bain Capital

Gillespie Twists the Facts on Bain Capital
May 29, 2012

A letter Bain Capital sent to its investors is now becoming a talking point for Mitt Romney surrogates. But once again the company letter, which boasts of Bain’s success, is being misrepresented — this time by Ed Gillespie, a senior adviser to the Romney campaign.

Gillespie claimed that “less than 5 percent” of Bain’s investments “ended up in bankruptcy.” But that’s what Bain claims occurred over its entire 28-year history. The Wall Street Journal reported that 22 percent of companies “Bain invested in while Mr.

Sununu Misfires on Bain ‘Jobs’ Claim

Sununu Misfires on Bain ‘Jobs’ Claim
May 25, 2012

John H. Sununu, a top surrogate for Mitt Romney, wrongly claimed Bain Capital was “able to save jobs … about 80 percent of the time” at companies in which it had invested. Sununu was misreading or misrepresenting a Bain statement on revenues, not jobs.
Sununu, a former governor of New Hampshire and an early supporter of Romney, spoke to reporters May 22 on a conference call. When addressing Bain Capital, the private-equity investment firm founded by Romney,

Lemon-Picking Bain Capital, Obama-style

Lemon-Picking Bain Capital, Obama-style
May 24, 2012

President Obama and a super PAC that supports him are stealing a page from Newt Gingrich and Ted Kennedy in running TV ads and web videos that slam Mitt Romney for his years at Bain Capital. And, like Gingrich and Kennedy before him, Obama is lemon-picking — that is, highlighting the venture capital firm’s failed businesses and ignoring its successful ones.
Both Obama and the super PAC Priorities USA Action spotlight two businesses — Ampad and GS Industries —