Fact checking the new attack ad on Obama

(CBS News) Crossroads GPS, the Karl Rove-cofounded independent political group working to boost Republicans, announced Wednesday that it is launching a $25 million TV ad campaign against President Obama grounded in the notion that the president has broken his promises.

Outside groups have shown themselves to be particularly prone to stretch or distort the truth in their advertising - in part because they have no official connection to a candidate - and Crossroads GPS has been no exception. Its new spot contains four charges against the president, only one of which is unambiguously supported by the facts. 

The first charge involves Mr. Obama's statement that "we must help millions of homeowners facing foreclosure." The ad then says that one in five mortgages is now underwater. But that doesn't actually counter the president's statement: Just because some homeowners are underwater does not mean that others have not gotten help.

That's not to say the administration isn't subject to legitimate criticism on its efforts, particularly a $75 billion program to help homeowners facing foreclosure that was seen as potentially making things worse. But that was just one of many proposals, among them a plan announced earlier this year to ease refinancing for struggling homeowners.

The second charge involves Mr. Obama's statement that he wouldn't raise taxes on those making less than $250,000. Whether he broke this promise depends on how you look at it. Some people making below that threshold have seen some taxes go up if they use tobacco products or tanning beds, both of which have been subject to increased taxes under the president.

But Mr. Obama has not signed an across-the-board tax increase. In fact, he's signed into law tax reductions for the vast majority of Americans through the payroll tax cut and other measures.

Crossroads GPS points to a report from the conservative Heritage foundation to argue that "Obamacare raises 18 different taxes by 2019." Obviously, the group's calculations are up for debate; you can review what they list as the "top 10 most expensive Obamacare taxes and fees" here. Seven of the ten have yet to kick in. 

The third charge is that the president said if you like your health care plan, you can keep it. To suggest this is false, the ad quotes a story that it quotes as saying "as many as 20 million Americans could lose their employer-provided coverage because of President Obama's healthcare reform law."

The story, from The Hill, does indeed make that claim, which comes from a report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. But it continues: "The figure represents the worst-case scenario, CBO says, and the law could just as well increase the number of people with employer-based coverage by 3 million in 2019." Since the major provisions of the health care law have yet to kick in, it's impossible to know how this will play out. But the implication that Mr. Obama has already broken that promise is decidedly premature.

The fourth and final charge in the ad is the only one that is unassailable. Mr. Obama pledged to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term. As the ad notes, he hasn't kept that promise.

The Congressional Budget Office is projecting a $1.17 trillion budget deficit for the budget year that ends in September. For the last budget year under President George W. Bush, the government recorded a $1.41 trillion budget deficit. So while the deficit looks to be smaller, it is not near half what it had been.

Left unmentioned in the ad is that on this metric, President Obama looks a lot better than President Bush. Mr. Bush started his presidency, with Rove as a senior adviser, with a $127 billion budget surplus.

[LogicRules3]

Those pesky little things called facts have no place in Rove's world.

[nygurl1]

Rove thinks he's a kingmaker. I don't think he has looked at the IQ's of his choices. If too dumb they will be heavy baggage and no one would vote for them anyway. Too smart and he won't be able to control them.

[thebob-bob]

Rove sold GW Bush to the Christian Right promising that Roe v. Wade would be overturned, that prayer would return to the classroom and that homosexuals would be pushed back into the closet. Rove sold GW Bush to Conservatives promising that no taxes, no regulations and lots of wars would solve all of Americas problems.

Who still buys what this Texas snake-oil salesman is selling??

[marychgo]

Get out your galoshes, folks. With all the money Rove and friends have collected from the 1%, we'll need hip boots by Election Day to navigate through all the lies.

[nygurl1]

I always considered it slime.

[irreverentasever]

The main reason our economy is where it is at today is still the direct result of Box of Rocks George Bush, Wasted Organ Dick Cheney and Chipmunk Cheeked Karl Rove thinking they could Texas Two Step through the Middle East and that it would be done and paid for in six months but here we are over ten years down the road fighting the same battles with the same results and paying an ever increasing price economically, physically and spiritually. Sometimes I have to agree with Chinese Democracy because they would have rewarded such failure by marching them out to the town square forcing them onto their knees and used no more than three bullets to accomplish the mission.

[nygurl1]

YES!

[alanrobisch]

i read the article and its facts they state are ambiguous are ambiguous because they are comparing apple to oranges. the supposed fact check is a Obama campaign piece

[sandiegopete]

You hate Obama so the article must be a campaign piece. You opinon is hardly unbiased. Since you included no facts whatsoever in your comment, your commnent must be weighed solely on your standing as an anti-Obama person.

[nearl451]

Money tends to rot any sense of truth and the SCOTUS has unleashed all of this "free speech" upon our heads.

Not to worry. President ROmney will apply austerity and the economy will tank. then there'll be hell to pay.

[nygurl1]

Nonamerican independant - thats your name!

You DO realize that you are totally wrong!
You do realize you are totally offensive!

Catholics have a lot to answer too but your way sucks! Do you really think ALL catholics are the same? Or is it a general hate of ALL religions? I think if they were ALL thrown out, there would be nobody left!
The first 2 sentences are where you should have stopped!

Kennedy was the first catholic president and he had to convince us he wouldn't rule by bible and he never did!

The fact that they keep waving that book at us means they are not going to be elected!

[jrtaylor001]

i see the repubicorps is in full lieing swing, rove is just beoners bottom boy.

[stormerF69]

Ever heard a speeh from Sheila jackson lee,Or congress woman Waters? Hillary lies all the time,lied about how she got her name,lied about Nasa's letter,lied about dodging sniper fire,Obama also lies all the time, too many to list.

[TimeToEvolve]

This is a slimewad Karl Rove giant corporate funded right wing group. And they are Republicons so they literally cannot tell the truth. It goes against their religion.

[TJphoto]

The Republican Playbook. If you tell a lie long enough and often enough people will start to believe it. A guy in Germany did this back in the 1930s.

[stormerF69]

How many ap reporters fact checked Hillary or Bill's books? none. How many fact checked Palin's? 17 reporters. So where is the Bias?

[nygurl1]

Hey storny - have you considered that they did and it was all kosher?

Have you considered that the reporters were having a ball with the nitwit? Must have been funny reading!

[wdrussell1]

Isn't that cute? The wealth terrorists are attacking the president for problems the wealth terrorists created.