Fact Finder

After listening to the Vice Presidential debate, you ask yourself, "Self, should I take them at their word? Were they both on the 'Straight Talk Express'?" I am here (along with factcheck.org) to set their stories straight. Here are some statements, followed by the facts:

Palin:

• "Barack Obama even supported increasing taxes as late as last year for those families making only $42,000 a year." FACT: It was individuals making $42,000 a year, not families. Families making $90,000 he voted to tax.
• Claimed that “millions of small businesses” would see tax increases under Obama’s tax proposals. FACT: At most, several hundred thousand business owners would see increases.
• "Barack Obama had said that all we're doing in Afghanistan is air-raiding villages and killing civilians. And such a reckless, reckless comment and untrue comment, again, hurts our cause." FACT: Here is Obama's actual quote: "We’ve got to get the job done there and that requires us to have enough troops so that we’re not just air-raiding villages and killing civilians, which is causing enormous problems there."
• "We're circulating about $700 billion a year into foreign countries" FACT: As of Sept. 30, imports are running at a rate of about $493 billion per year.
• "He's proposing a $5,000 tax credit for families so that they can get out there and they can purchase their own health care coverage. That doesn't cost the government anything...that's budget neutral." FACT: Experts predict that McCain's Health Care proposal would increase the the deficit over 10 years by $1.3 trillion. The same experts predict Obama's would increase the deficit $1.6 trillion over the same time frame.

Biden:

• Biden repeatedly claimed "McCain voted the exact same way" on a budget bill. FACT: McCain actually voted against it.
• "John McCain said he wouldn't even sit down with the government of Spain, a NATO ally that has troops in Afghanistan with us now." FACT: In a radio interview when asked if he would meet with the President of Spain, McCain responded: "I would be willing to meet with those leaders who are our friends and want to work with us in a cooperative fashion". He did not commit to meet with him, but did not refuse.
• "Our commanding general in Afghanistan said the surge principle in Iraq will not work in Afghanistan". FACT: Although Gen. McKiernan said, "The word I don't use for Afghanistan is 'surge', what is required is a 'sustained commitment'"; he followed it up with saying Afghanistan would need an infusion of American troops "as quickly as possible."
• Biden claimed that McCain said in a magazine article that he wanted to deregulate the health care industry as the banking industry had been. FACT: McCain was talking specifically about his proposal to allow the sale of health insurance across state lines.
• Biden claimed 5 times that McCain would give oil companies a "$4 billion tax cut." FACT: McCain’s plan would cut the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent — for ALL corporations, not just oil companies.
• Biden said that Iraq had an "$80 billion surplus." FACT: Iraqis have $29 billion in the bank, and in August passed a $21 billion spending bill.

My Analysis: Politicians always inflate numbers, and fudge facts. When looking at both of their inaccuracies, it became obvious to me the differences. Gov. Palin's numbers were over-exaggerated, she flubbed Gen. McKiernan's name, gave a shout out to 3rd graders, winked excessively, and changed the topic of the question several times. I also wish she would have left out the "darn its" and "heck of.." and "soccer moms". She can be relatable without sounding common. However, I believe Sen. Biden knowingly lied about McCain's voting record, hoping Gov. Palin wouldn't be able to catch him on that, and she didn't. He spoke elloquently, yet repeating the same inaccuracies. He was the typical groomed and seasoned politician. On the surface you could conclude he handly won the debate. I would argue that I am tired of 'experienced' politicians who can talk their ways out of messes and into personal gain. And to me, Sen. Biden represented the Washington establishment beautifully and even said at one point, "You know who I am, I'm not going to change". Then why spend millions of dollars on campaign signs plastered with the slogan "CHANGE you can believe in"?

What did you think?

p.s. sorry for taking so long to post this, I had to tend to a sick child all weekend!