McCain-Palin Distorts Factcheck.org Finding (Update)

by Karen Hatter | September 10, 2008 at 06:20 pm

1148 views | 51 Recommendations | 15 comments

Factcheck.org, which is identified at its website as a ".... nonpartisan, nonprofit "consumer advocate" for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics", issued a statement today stating, among other things, that the McCain-Palin campaign ".... has altered our message in a fashion we consider less than honest."

The organization has criticized false statements and anonymous e mails posted on the internet concerning Governor Palin. However, Factcheck.org states they have no evidence that any of the false claims came from Senator Obama's campaign.

From the statement, dated September 10, 2008:

With its latest ad, released Sept. 10, the McCain-Palin campaign has altered our message in a fashion we consider less than honest. The ad strives to convey the message that FactCheck.org said "completely false" attacks on Gov. Sarah Palin had come from Sen. Barack Obama. We said no such thing. We have yet to dispute any claim from the Obama campaign about Palin.

The transcript of the ad, appearing at the organization's website, attributed to Factcheck.org by the McCain-Palin campaign reads:

Announcer: The attacks on Governor Palin have been called "completely false"..."misleading."

On screen: Photo of Obama, FactCheck.org banner, "'completely false' . . . 'misleading' 9/0/08"

And, they've just begun.

The [Wall Street] Journal reports Obama "air-dropped a mini-army of 30 lawyers, investigators and opposition researchers" into Alaska to dig dirt on Governor Palin.

As Obama drops in the polls, he'll try to destroy her.

Obama's "politics of hope"? Empty words.

McCain: I'm John McCain and I approved this message.

Read the complete Factcheck.org statement here.

Factcheck.org also disputes the characterization of legislation pertaining to protecting children from sexual predators, featured in the latest ad speaking of Senator Obama, approved by the McCain-Palin campaign, which states sex education will be taught to kindergarteners.

More from Factcheck.org :

There He (McCain) goes Again (regarding the Obama campaign's tax plan) :

Contrary to the ad's claim, Obama has not proposed raising taxes on home heating oil. In fact, just the opposite. Obama is proposing rebate checks of up to $500 per individual or $1,000 per family for what he calls an "emergency energy rebate." Obama says the rebate would be large enough that a typical family in a northern state could offset the full increase in home heating costs that have resulted from rising oil prices. Obama plans to fund the rebate through a five-year windfall profits tax on oil companies.

Corsi's Dull Hatchet (regarding Jerome Corsi's book, "The Obama Nation" ) :

.... is a mishmash of unsupported conjecture, half-truths, logical fallacies and outright falsehoods.

Belittling Palin?:

The new McCain-Palin ad "Disrespectful" begins like an earlier ad we criticized, with its reference to Barack Obama's celebrity, but then goes down new paths of deception. It takes quotes from news organizations and uses them out of context in an effort to portray Obama and his running mate, Joe Biden, as unfairly attacking Sarah Palin and making sexist remarks.

*****************************************************

UPDATE:

In a related article, CBS has requested YouTube remove the McCain Web ad entitled Lipstick, with the ad portraying Governor Palin as a victim of sexism, using a statement made by CBS news anchor Katie Couric out of context.

From the article:

.... YouTube has removed a McCain Web ad titled "Lipstick," which portrays Sarah Palin as the victim of Barack Obama's sexism. CBS sought the removal because the ad involves an unauthorized clip of CBS anchor Katie Couric saying, "One of the great lessons of that campaign is the continued and accepted role of sexism in American life."

The ad implies that Couric's comment was about Palin; in fact, Couric was discussing Hillary Clinton's campaign.

CBS spokeswoman Leigh Farris said, "CBS News does not endorse any candidate in the Presidential race. Any use of CBS personnel in political advertising that suggests the contrary is misleading."

More on this topic from the New York Times

Also at NowPublic:

A Descent into Political Chaos?

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recommend This comment thread is now closed

master_jim2008

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 18:51 on September 10th, 2008

Karen Hatter, I like this story. It's good stuff. McCain is a senile ole goat

Paschen

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 22:46 on September 10th, 2008

Karen Hatter, I like this story. It's good stuff.

phoenixesrose

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 23:19 on September 10th, 2008

Karen Hatter, I like this story. It's good stuff.

Another great place to check for "truth" is at:

http://politifact.com/truth-o-meter

It also includes "flip flops" and other things.

duo

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 00:19 on September 11th, 2008

Karen Hatter, I like this story. It's good stuff. Umph!

Dave Keating

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 02:15 on September 11th, 2008

Karen Hatter, I like this story. It's good stuff.

dunkelberg

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 03:40 on September 11th, 2008

the McCain-Palin campaign ".... has altered our message in a fashion we consider less than honest."

Gee that almost is like calling them liars.

However, if the McCain-Bush/Palin-Stevens campaign swears by factcheck.org, it must stand by this appraisal of Palin-Bush's speech.

Palin: I told the Congress, "Thanks, but no thanks," on that bridge to nowhere.

This is not the first time Palin has cited her choice to kill the bridge in 2007 as an example of her anti-waste stance. It’s true that she did eventually nix the project. But the bridge was nearly dead already – Congress had removed the earmark, giving the requested money to the state but not marking it for any specific use. Palin unplugged its life support, declaring in 2007 that the funds would not be used for the Gravina bridge.

When she was running for governor, however, Palin expressed a different position. In 2006, the Ketchikan Daily News quoted her expressing optimism and support for the bridge at a Ketchikan campaign stop.

Palin, 2006: "People across the nation struggle with the idea of building a bridge because they’ve been under these misperceptions about the bridge and the purpose,” said Palin, who described the link as the Ketchikan area’s potential for expansion and growth. … Palin said Alaska’s congressional delegation worked hard to obtain funding for the bridge as part of a package deal and that she “would not stand in the way of the progress toward that bridge.”

Palin also answered "yes" to an Anchorage Daily News poll question about whether she would continue to support state funding for the Gravina Island bridge if elected governor. "The window is now," she wrote, "while our congressional delegation is in a strong position to assist." It was only after she won the governorship that Palin shifted her position. And even then, it’s inaccurate to say that she “told the Congress ‘thanks, but no thanks.’” Palin accepted non-earmarked money from Congress that could have been used for the bridge if she so desired. That she opted to use it for other state transportation purposes doesn’t qualify as standing up to Congress.

The bridge reversal is not the only matter throwing doubt on Palin’s credentials as a government waste reformer. Watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense has reported that the small town of Wasilla, Alaska, which had not previously received significant federal funds, hauled in almost $27 million in earmarks while Palin was mayor. (McCain has explicitly criticized several of the Wasilla earmarks in recent years.) To help obtain these earmarks, Palin had hired Steven Silver, the former chief of staff for recently indicted Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, as Wasilla’s lobbyist.

And Palin continued to solicit federal funds as governor. A request form on Stevens’ Web site shows that she requested $160.5 million in earmarks for the state in 2008, and almost $198 million for 2009.

Source: factcheck.org

dunkelberg

at 04:28 on September 11th, 2008

A McCain-Bush/Palin-Stevens ad misleading?

I am shocked. SHOCKED I tell you to find there lying going on in that establishment.

Jordan Yerman

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 05:00 on September 11th, 2008

Karen Hatter, I like this story. It's good stuff.

Rhonda J Mangus

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 05:13 on September 11th, 2008

Karen Hatter, I like this story. It's good stuff.

Wino

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 06:08 on September 11th, 2008

Karen Hatter, I like this story. It's good stuff.

dunkelberg

at 15:24 on September 11th, 2008

For the whiners and naysayers about factcheck.org, I offer the following from today:

An Obama ad plays fast and loose with McCain's voting record on education and proposals as a presidential candidate. Summary A new Obama-Biden ad includes misleading claims about McCain and education spending:

Emilio Lizardo

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 07:03 on September 12th, 2008

Karen Hatter, I like this story. It's good stuff.

iraqivetwifeforchange

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 14:02 on September 13th, 2008

Karen Hatter, I like this story. It's good stuff.

Yes. Also check out snopes.com. There were 2 myths in emails on McCain in circulation. There were 20 myths in circulation about Obama. What does that tell you about the amount of lies coming from the far right.

Again, they appeal to fear and greed. They are the only 2 American values left.

panzerlawyer

at 08:28 on September 21st, 2008

Great story, but Obama is just as big of a liar as McCain. What's the difference. Both candidates support the dumbing down of America . . . right?

Karen Hatter

at 15:55 on September 21st, 2008

The article dealt with complete fabrication in contrast to the twisting and stretching of truth, as is usually done by politicians' campaigns.

As far as dumbing down, Americans are responsible for their own dumbing down process by usually digesting and regurgitating whatever the latest sound bite has been provided to them by some spin meister, without any digging or research done on their own.