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FactChecking McCain

He made some flubs in accepting the nomination.

By Brooks Jackson | factcheck.org

Sep 5, 2008 | Updated: 4:38 p.m. ET Sep 5, 2008

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Posted By: Nowforsomemoretruth @ 11/04/2008 10:04:33 AM

Comment: Obama's plan for jobs on Pennsylvania, West Virginia and other coal producting states, and Obama's plan for dealing with the high cost of energy, including electricity generation.

An audiotape of an interview Barack Obama did in January 2008 with The San Francisco Chronicle has surfaced in the final days of the presidential campaign. On the tape Obama tells the interviewer how he will use environmenal laws to kill the Coal industry,

"so if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can ... It's just that it will bankrupt them because they're going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that's being emitted."

Also says he's policy will cause price of electricity to skyrocket.

Now, why would Obama say that in San Francisco and not Pennsylvania? We've seen him do that before, right? Something about guns and religion.

And why did Newsweek take their story on the Pennsylvania campaign down Sunday after this story broke?
Posted By: rockye @ 09/21/2008 7:39:39 AM

Comment: I WONDER WHO HAS TOLD MORE LIES IN THIS CAMPAIGN: McCAIN OR PALIN? I COULD TELL WHEN THEY ARE LYING THROUGH THEIR TEETH WHEN THEY MADE THEIR SPEECHES. NOT ONLY THEIR BODY LANGUAGE GIVES THEM AWAY, BUT ASLO THE LOGIC IN THE CONTENT OF THEIR
SPEECH. A PRIME EXAMPLE OF THEIR LIES: PALIN AND McCAIN CLAIMED THAT ALASKA PRODUCES 20% OF AMERICA'S ENERGY WHEN IT ONLY PRODUCES APPROXIMATELY LESS THAN 4%. HE LIED TO THE REPUBLICAN CROWED BY STATING THAT HE WOULD FIRE THE S.E.C DIRECTOR IF HE WERE PRESIDENT WHEN IT IS NOT TRUE: THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES DOES NOT HAVE THAT POWER! DO WE NEED THESE TYPE OF PERSONS IN THE HIGHEST OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES? HELL NO! WAKE UP AMERICA AND SMELL THE LIPSTICK! THIS IS WHY I SAY TO THE McC-PALIN TICKET: THANKS BUT NO THANKS! HELL NO, McC-PALIN NO!
Posted By: eagles1776 @ 09/18/2008 10:08:18 AM

Comment: Pinocchio award goes to John McCain.
Posted By: rockye @ 09/18/2008 2:01:44 AM

Comment: OBAMA DOES HAVE WAY MORE EXPERIENCE THAN PALIN, TOO BAD HE IS NOT RUNNING AGAINST HER, HE WOULD KICK HER BUT ON ELECTION DAY! BUT SHE IS RUNNING AGAINST JOE BIDEN, WHO IS HAS, TWENTY OR MORE, TIMES MORE EXPERIENCE WILL EVER HAVE! I BET YOU HE WILL KICK HER BUT IN ANY DEBATE! PALIN IS A FAKE. IN MY OPINION, HER POLICAL IMAGE HAS BEEN REALLY INFLATED BY THE PRO-REPUBLICAN MEDIA BY PEOPLE SUCH AS THE TWO CLOWNS, GLENN BECK AND BILL
O'REILLY. IN MY OPINION, THEY WILL NOT ACCEPT THAT "PALIN HAS LIED LIKE A FLY" A LOT OF TIMES.
Posted By: AskPlus @ 09/11/2008 11:23:31 AM

Comment: My,my, my 17-for-18 on fact-check. He never stops lying. Ever.
Posted By: shirls64 @ 09/06/2008 11:32:22 AM

Comment: I think everyone shoul really listen to what McCain is saying, if you listen closely you will hear George Bush and all of the failed policies we have had to deal with and will be dealing with for many,many years to come.
He does not really care what he says as long as he thinks it sounds good. As for Sarah Palin I don't think thiscountry needs a "gun toting soccer mom" with no experience in national relations or for that matter our national security. To me she is just scary I feel she wants take away women's right to choose, and for that matter some one who trys to ban books from the library because SHE dosen't like them will eventually try to take away other forms of our freedom of speech. I think everything would be personal to her, that kind of thinking is scary indeed
Shirley Morris
Posted By: JenniferSmith @ 09/06/2008 10:57:45 AM

Comment: RE: PALIN's PAST: I read Anne Kilkenny's webpage. Its pretty fair - and scary. I have known girls like her while growing up - those that will step on anyone, backstab and kick you while you're down. Those that will say anything and lie to get what they want. I don't want anyone like that - immature and mean-spirited running this country.
Everyone must read this:
http://webpages.charter.net/suasponte/
Posted By: JenniferSmith @ 09/06/2008 10:44:08 AM

Comment: Republican receipt of last 8 years:
1 war in Iraq = 250 Billion (borrowed from China, with interest, needs to be paid back)
Economy = Republican ideas: working well are they?
Housing Crisis = Americans have been called "irresponsible" and "whiners"
Gas increase = $3.00 per gallon
Health Care (the cost of doing nothing) = people losing everything or denied health care, death
Environment & Global Warming (the cost of doing nothing) = worse weather, disasters, giving our kids a poor future
Posted By: Ranger-Suasponte @ 09/05/2008 10:46:32 PM

Comment: ABOUT SARAH PALIN:

http://webpages.charter.net/suasponte/

If you really want to know Sarah Palin's history (in detail) this is a "must read". It was written by Anne Kilkenny, a resident of Wasilla, Alaska.
Posted By: martin_gray @ 09/05/2008 10:15:56 PM

Comment: Neither party has definitively defined the goals outlined at their respective conventions. Of the two, I give Obama an edge because McCain's acceptance speech was, with the exception of his time spent in Hanoi, very, very general.

Palin is just an attractive doberman pincher who main responsibility is to attack while hiding behind her gender. You have to admit that any one who tries to go toe to toe with her will be boiled in oil unless it is Hillary Clinton.

My wife and I watched both conventions and, at this point, will vote for Obama although that is subject to change. We do see McCain as just more of the Bush administration.
Posted By: tiredoflies @ 09/05/2008 8:58:55 PM

Comment: Republicans like to talk experience in this race. Lets talk experience.

Who really has experience, judgement and leadership?

1. Barack Obama said we did not have justification to invade Iraq and was against
it.

That turned out to be true. No WMDs. OBAMA WAS RIGHT.

2. Barack Obama said we should attack in Pakistan if we find the enemy there.

BUSH IS NOW DOING JUST THAT.

3. Barack Obama said we should use diplomacy as a first resort not a last resort.

BUSH IS NOW DOING JUST THAT WITH NORTH KOREA AND IRAN.

4. Barack Obama said we should establish a time table to leave Iraq.

BUSH HAS NOW ESTABLISHED A TIME TABLE WITH IRAQ TO LEAVE BY
2011.

5. Barack Obama said Washington needs change very badly.

JOHN MCCAIN IS NOW, AFTER YEARS, SAYING JUST THAT.

6. The dreaded surge. This is the only thing McCain has been CLOSE to being right on. I say close because he fails to see that the Sunni uprising (Fathers of Iraq) and the al Sadr truce played a very important part in what occurred. In fact, without those two effects occurring, its doubtful our military troops would have succeeded to the degree they did.

So who then has the correct judgement here?

Looks to me like both PRESIDENT BUSH AND JOHN MCCAIN ARE NOW DOING EXACTLY WHAT BARACK OBAMA SAID LONG AGO. And McCain has been right beside Bush on these issues 90 percent of the time.

So who then is the real leader. He is the one others follow, and that is Barack Obama.

So yes, Obama has less so called experience but obviously he has learned so much more from his lesser experience because he has had the correct judgement and has been in the lead on all these issues.

McCains experience is nothing but longevity assumed to equate to experience.
- Posted By: foot @ 09/05/2008 9:31:51 PM
  
  Comment: tired:
  If your point is to show that Senator McCain and President Bush have been followers of Senator Obama instead of original leaders, note that almost all of Senator Obama's propositions have been mere afterthoughts. The fact that Senator Obama has rallied behind these ideas is true, but in no way are they first-hand nor have they originated from him. Senator Obama is merely a party-lining, bandwagoning Democrat as his Congressional record shows (govtrack.us).
  
  Also, President Bush has not signed an order to attack Pakistan, communication with North Korea and Iran has never been closed to the United States and physical threats have never been made to either of those countries, the timetable (which was proposed in 2004) is still a goal-oriented timetable with no specific date attached to it (the 2011 date is a probable and realistic date), and the change that Senator McCain is talking about is far different from Senator Obama's.
  
  It is also important to note that although Senator McCain has voted with President Bush 90 percent of the time, Senator Obama has similarly voted with Republicans (youtube.com "Obama: I Vote with Bush") "the majority of the time." This statement would seem to be contradictory to my previous claim that Senator Obama was a party-lining, bandwagoning Democrat, but he has voted with the Democratic Party 96 percent of the time (washingtonpost.com) which includes votes on the tax increases mentioned in the YouTube clip.
Posted By: foot @ 09/05/2008 6:26:10 PM

Comment: 1) Obama's health care plan still lacks some definition. For example, what does he define as a small business? The way I see it, smaller small businesses would be essentially forced to close shop because the larger small businesses would attract more employees that would have worked for the smaller businesses who can't afford to offer health care to their employees. Even thought there is a tax credit offered to these small businesses, most smaller businesses wouldn't be able, still, to pony up the 50% that isn't covered by Obama's plan. Another question: how much is this alleged health insurance going to cost anyway?
2) What bills has Obama voted for taxing oil companies? What are the bill numbers?
3) Even though a third of our oil comes from our allies, still two-thirds are coming from Venezuela and OPEC; not exactly close friends.
4) Even though there are no new funds going to renewable energy resources, that doesn't exhaust the possibility that old funds can be re-appropriated to new programs. These could include shifting funds to provide stipends and subsidies to states that are already planning their own renewable energy policies.
5) Pinpointing which government programs to be rid of would alienate many voters. You have to give it to him, no matter who was in this position, they wouldn't flat-out tell the American people that they're about to be fired.
6) Obama says he wants NAFTA reform, but renegotiation of the environmental and labor provisions in the agreement are vague and unnecessary. NAFTA isn't exactly "free trade" as we would imagine it anyway.