The Truth And Lies In The Ad Wars

CBS Evening News Fact Checks Obama's And McCain's Recent Ads

(CBS)  On the campaign trail, the facts took a beating this week - especially in some claims both campaigns are making in their advertising. We thought it was time for CBS News correspondent Wyatt Andrews to do a Reality Check.

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John McCain, appearing on ABC's "The View," was defending Sarah Palin as an anti-earmark crusader, but in the process made two glaring mistakes.

"Well, first of all, earmark spending, which she vetoed a half a billion dollars worth in state of Alaska," McCain said Friday.

The facts are Sarah Palin did veto half a billion dollars, but in state spending - not earmarks. A fact that led to this follow up.

"She also took some earmarks," Barbara Walters said.

"A lot," Joy Behar added.

"No, not as governor she didn't," McCain responded.

Wrong again.

The facts are Sarah Palin as governor has requested $453 million in earmarks.

In general, the facts took a beating in the first campaign week after the conventions. In this week's advertising, McCain went relentlessly negative - in some case resorting to falsehood.

In one ad, McCain implied that Barack Obama called Sarah Palin a pig.

That was false. Obama was talking about McCain's platform.

The latest McCain ad says the Obama camp insulted Sarah Palin's looks - a clear distortion.

The fact is, last week Sen Biden described Palin as good looking - compared to him.

And these ads about pigs and insults are from a candidate who promised to avoid going negative.

"It's very important we focus on issues and challenges we face today," McCain had previously said.

Obama - who also promised a positive campaign - was also loose with the facts in an attack ad, in which Obama claimed McCain repeatedly cut funding for schools.

The facts are: McCain voted three times to increase education spending, and that "taking away" claim is a distortion.

"What he wants to do is to freeze discretionary spending in the government," said Viveca Novak of Factcheck.org. "But it's not a cut from previous years."

According to the nonpartisan Factcheck.org it was a very bad week for the issues.

"The ads we are seeing this week in particular have been, in tone, as low as we ever seen," Novak said.

McCain has been the aggressor in this slide to negativity and it's putting pressure on Obama to respond. Either way, this is not the elevated discussion both candidates promised to deliver.

[dellie890713]

FOR EVERY READER OUT THERE....READ THIS PDF FOR YOURSELF AND YOU DECIDE ABOUT THE PROGRAM FOR KINDERGARTENERS....OBAMA AND THE PRESS LIE...IT IS SPELLED OUT CLEARLY HERE...THIS IS THE PROGRAM

http://www.siecus.org/pubs/guidelines/guidelines.pdf

[relee42]

News Flash Wasilla: Sarah Palin has found enough duct tape in the Wasilla super store and the McCain/Reagan trickle down voodoo economics policies to patch every crack in Hillary''s Glass ceiling ###

[bill_chicago]

Nice false equivalency. Your paymasters up in corporate must be pleased.

So McCain voted to raise education spending three times. That''s not quite the same thing as saying he''s never voted to cut education spending, is it? Do you think in his umpteen years in the Senate he may have had a few more votes on education spending than the three you cite? Did Obama say he has never in his career voted to increase education spending?

And what does the law say on education funding? If the current law says that funding will increase year to year, and McCain freezes that, then yes, he will have cut education funding. He will have changed the law so that the states get less money for education. (And yes, this will absolutely constitute less money than in prior years in inflation-adjusted dollars.)

This is not rocket science. Although watching the poor saps at Lehman Brothers this morning, I think I understand your motivations.

[aztruthtellr]

As much as I would love to blame the politicians or the system, the blame finally rests on the people who unquestioningly take the bait and in so doing reward the cynical liars who put out that stuff. This guarantees that dishonest negative ads will be a feature of elections to come.

[hugochavez2-2009]

sarah p. has two druggies in her family

her son and daughter!

[ragnar30066]

Yeah, right. Obama didn''t mean to hit Palin below the belt with that lipstick on a pig joke. That would be something a two-bit thug politician from the "Chicago political machine" would do.

Which is exactly what Bill Clinton said Obama is.

[dnsallday]

I saw that *** ed ad from the Mccain/Palin campaign.

Why are McCain and Palin against protecting young children from sexual predators?

[pastdue1]

Whatever else these election campaigns are great fodder for the late night comics and shows.
The lipstick on a pig flap is still making us laugh.
But wait, we have that dimpled leprachaun, Julianne, answering every single question with , "he is the most liberal member of the senate" We thought he winked, Charlie, but, ~ he didn''''t blink, Charlie, he didn''''t blink.
Then we have that round little cherub, Rove, announcing that McCain''''s ads were not entirely 100% truthful, although Obama''''s were worse. . He looked us square in the eye, but "he didn''''t blink, Charlie, he didn''''t blink"
And finally, McCain defines his criterion for qualifications for:
foreign policy ~ must be a neighbor of Russia.
and the most fun of all: Palin and energy ~ he says she is the greatest expert on energy. IN THE WORLD. and ~ he didn''''t blink, Charlie, he didn''''t blink.
You know, Charlie, ya can''''t blink, ya can''''t blink

[abbe91]

Palin was always against the bridge to nowhere --LIES

Posted by ghm1 at 05:23 PM : Sep 14, 2008

Now, look what''s true ...

In 2000, there were 497 rapes reported in Alaska, FBI statistics show. That''s a rate of 79.3 per 100,000 residents, the highest in the nation.

Nationally, victims'' advocates have for years reported scattered instances of rape victims being required to pay for their forensic tests, says Ilse Knecht of the National Center for Victims of Crime in Washington. Those complaints have subsided somewhat after Congress in 2005 passed a law requiring states to provide rape exams free of charge or reimburse victims for the costs, says Knecht, whose group supported the provision.

"The reason we passed the legislation was that we saw it was prevalent enough to be a pretty considerable problem," Knecht says. "There are no other victims of crime that end up being billed for evidence collection."

The Senate version of the legislation that included the rape-exam provision was sponsored by Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, the Democratic vice presidential nominee. Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama was one of 58 co-sponsors; Republican presidential nominee John McCain was not.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-09-10-rape-exams_N.htm

And who''s sexist ?

[tb10112]

I THINK THiS Is Insane

[andylance1]

What ever happened to Joe Biden? What happened to Senator Usury, the credit card flunkie of Delaware? He seems to have dropped off the map. What happened to Mr. Kitchen Table, the one with Pennsylvania roots on his hair plugs?

Oh, he is the one who said Obama should have picked Hillary for VP. Now he has the gall to make a speech in Michigan, one of the states the DNC disenfranchised. Are you going to promise a big federal bailout of the auto industry, assuming there is anything left in the Treasury?

[andylance1]

What ever happened to Joe Biden? What happened to Senator Usury, the credit card flunkie of Delaware? He seems to have dropped off the map. What happened to Mr. Kitchen Table, the one with Pennsylvania roots on his hair plugs?

Oh, he is the one who said Obama should have picked Hillary for VP. Now he has the gall to make a speech in Michigan, one of the states the DNC disenfranchised. Are you going to promise a big federal bailout of the auto industry, assuming there is anything left in the Treasury?

[sniper4960]

Has anyone wondered about McCain''s first wife and three children? Her story is compelling.

Some of you might also want to check the "Vietnam Veterans AGAINST John McCain" site.

You need to ask how a man that abandoned his crippled wife to marry his multi-millionaire mistress, refers to the new wife as a "c*nt," voted against every bill supporting veterans, blocked the efforts of POW/MIA families'' efforts to gain information, voted against equal pay for equal work, admitted extreme ignorance about the economy, has nothing in common with common Americans, endorses falsehood over honor and more is planning to use a young, vibrant mother of five for his own political benefit and agenda.

It is puzzling that Palin fights the "good ole boys," then runs willy-nilly into their arms when asked to participate. If elected, I truly hope that she understands the scope of her usefulness in this campaign. Once she is no longer needed, she will be shut away by the "good ole boys" then trotted out for that tie breaking vote. Those "good ole boys" will not tolerate a "maverick" when it comes to their agenda. As long as she is useful, they will continue to exploit her. It could very well ruin her and her family. He was not putting "Country First" when he collaborated under duress with the North Vietnamese or now with his choice of Palin for VP.

It is with regret that I watch this woman be used like a prize at a carnival to appease the tastes and appetites of the evangelical right.

[vincan-2009]

The more people realize how completely McCain has thrown away honor, integrity and credibility - the more people will be disallusioned. McCain did not use good judgement or intelligence chosing Palin. Turns out she is quite the shrew who has lots of baggage. The republican convention was boiling with vile and lies from all the speakers. This inspired republicans? How is that possible? .

[vincan-2009]

McCain has done the worst ads that are lies and deliberate hateful smears. McCain has become worse than Bush and Cheney. Even more despicable. McCain is so desperate to win that he has become Karl Rove himself. Senator Obama may not have perfect ads, but his ads are much more likely to be fact not fiction.

[homespunlady]

And back in REALITY: Without the "personality agenda" meant to SIDE-TRACK the voters and HIDE NEO-CON CORRUPTION.

It''s REALLY TWISTED that the VERY CON PEOPLE that CAUSED these problems now HYPOCRITICALLY claim they can "FIX" what they CAUSED!!

S ex, Drug Use and Graft Cited in Interior Department

By CHARLIE SAVAGE
Published: September 10, 2008
WASHINGTON %u2014 As Congress prepares to debate expansion of drilling in taxpayer-owned coastal waters, the Interior Department agency that collects oil and gas royalties has been caught up in a wide-ranging ethics scandal %u2014 including allegations of financial self-dealing, accepting gifts from energy companies, cocaine use and sexual misconduct.

In three reports delivered to Congress on Wednesday, the department%u2019s inspector general, Earl E. Devaney, found wrongdoing by a dozen current and former employees of the Minerals Management Service, which collects about $10 billion in royalties annually and is one of the government%u2019s largest sources of revenue other than taxes.

%u201CA culture of ethical failure%u201D pervades the agency, Mr. Devaney wrote in a cover memo.

The reports portray a dysfunctional organization that has been riddled with conflicts of interest, unprofessional behavior and a free-for-all atmosphere for much of the Bush administration%u2019s watch.

[tbweb]

McCain`s campaign is so gutter now even Karl Rove is distancing himself from it!

[tbweb]

People can vote anyway they choose, and if fear of terrorism drives their vote, they ae perfectly within their rights to vote it.

Posted by Trapbreak at 08:02 PM : Sep 14, 2008,,,

Americans are Americans first and everything else second! If you can provide proof that Muslims are Muslims first and Americans second and support terror then you should make your case, we`re all ears! Until you do and in the mean time Muslim Americans are Americans like the rest of us and will be treated that way accordingly. This reminds me of the Japanese hysteria during WWII when all the Japanese Americans were gathered up and locked up! America had to apologize and eat crow then and if Muslims Americans receive the same treatment America will end up apologizing and eating crow again! Those who don`t remember the past are condemned to repeat it!

[popuelitist]

Credit where credit is due:

The McCain team has been lying their pants off the whole time, and the media is (finally) starting to call them on it. Late-coming, but a welcome change. The Obama team has stretched the context here and there, in the way campaigns always have (not that I excuse that), but McCain/Palin%u2026 holy cow. So little comes out of their mouths that isn''t a gall durn LIE!!!

[jt_lancer]

So, both candidates are lying in their ads - what a surprise!

Yet, the sheeple will still vote for them, knowing that both of them are promoting disinformation and outright lies to get their votes.

Voters should be insulted.