FACTCHECK.ORG

McCain-Palin Distorts Our Finding

Those attacks on Palin that we debunked didn't come from Obama.

 

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Summary
A McCain-Palin ad has FactCheck.org calling Obama's attacks on Palin "absolutely false" and "misleading." That's what we said, but it wasn't about Obama.

Our article criticized anonymous e-mail falsehoods and bogus claims about Palin posted around the Internet. We have no evidence that any of the claims we found to be false came from the Obama campaign.

The McCain-Palin ad also twists a quote from a Wall Street Journal columnist. He said the Obama camp had sent a team to Alaska to "dig into her record and background." The ad quotes the WSJ as saying the team was sent to "dig dirt."

Update, Sept. 10: Furthermore, the Obama campaign insists that no researchers have been sent to Alaska and that the Journal owes them a correction.

Analysis
We don't object to people reprinting our articles. In fact, our copyright policy encourages it. But we've also asked that "the editorial integrity of the article be preserved" and told those who use our items that "you should not edit the original in such a way as to alter the message."

Update, Sept. 10: After this article was posted, the Obama campaign contacted us to say that John Fund's article is wrong.

Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor, Sept. 10: John Fund's claim that we "air-dropped" 30 lawyers into Alaska is false. No one from the Obama campaign or the DNC has been sent to Alaska. We've asked Mr. Fund for a correction.

McCain-Palin 2008 Ad:
"Fact Check"
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.

Less Than Honest
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 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.

They call the ad "Fact Check." It says "the attacks on Gov. Palin have been called 'completely false' ... 'misleading.' " On screen is a still photo of a grim-faced Obama. Our words are accurately quoted, but they had nothing to do with Obama.

Our article, posted two days earlier, debunked a number of false or misleading claims that have circulated in chain e-mails and Internet postings regarding Palin. There is no evidence that the Obama campaign is behind any of the wild accusations that we critiqued. There is no more basis for attributing these viral attacks to the Obama campaign than there is for blaming the McCain campaign for chain e-mail attacks falsely claiming that Obama is a Muslim, or a "racist," or that he is proposing to tax water. The anti-Palin messages, like the anti-Obama messages, have every appearance of being home-grown.

Digging for "Dirt"
The ad also quotes the Wall Street Journal as saying that the Obama campaign "air-dropped a mini-army of 30 lawyers, investigators and opposition researchers to dig dirt on Governor Palin." That's also a distortion. The Wall Street Journal opinion article did not say that the Obama team was there to "dig dirt." It said they were there do "dig into her record and background." Maybe the McCain-Palin campaign knows something we don't about what's in Palin's record and background.

The full quote, from an item by conservative columnist John Fund, dated Sept. 9:

WSJ's John Fund, Sept. 9:  Democrats have airdropped a mini-army of 30 lawyers, investigators and opposition researchers into Anchorage, the state capital Juneau and Mrs. Palin's hometown of Wasilla to dig into her record and background. My sources report the first wave arrived in Anchorage less than 24 hours after John McCain selected her on August 29.

Fund said the opposition researchers were mainly interested in a controversy surrounding Palin's firing of her public safety commissioner, Walt Monegan. Monegan has claimed he was dismissed because he wouldn't fire a state trooper who was in a divorce battle with Palin's sister; the Alaska Legislature is investigating whether Palin acted properly. Fund also stated that the Palin family has accused the trooper of "using a Taser on his 10-year-old stepson, drinking in his patrol car and illegally shooting a moose."

Now, that's "dirt."

Footnote: At least one Obama spokesman has repeated an allegation that we debunked in our story, that Palin was a supporter of Pat Buchanan. However, the Obama campaign was not the originator of the claim.

Reprinted with permission from Factcheck.org.

Sources
Fund, John. "The Hunt for Sarah October." Wall Street Journal, 9 Sept. 2008.

Loy, Wesley. "Hired help will probe Monegan dismissal." Anchorage Daily News, 29 July 2008.

© 2008

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Member Comments

  • Posted By: nomoreoil @ 09/19/2008 11:50:03 AM

    McCain ??? Palin and The Oil Industry
    In 2006 , Bp Alaska, Exxon Mobile, Chevron and Conoco Phillips gave over 1.7 Million dollars to AK First Org. Inc. and to Alaska Oil and Gas Association to repeal Measure 2 of the Alaska Constitution. They succeeded with the help of Palin. By spreading the wealth their 1.7 Million dollar Investment created a windfall of profits only rivaled by Mr. Buffet himself.

    With Palin???s help and under the watchful eye of the Bush. Cheney and Mc Cain administration the Oil Emirates will also receive credits against future taxation worth even more billions of dollars. It appears that Palin and the Bush administration are paying the oil companies back all the taxes they have paid since the inception of Measure 2.

    What do we know about Palin? Not much according to the Media. We do know Governor Palin is the Public Member for the Alaska Oil and Natural Gas Conservation Commission. What you should know is that the mission of Alaska Oil and Natural Gas Conservation Commission is to work hand in hand with the oil industry to help maximize production, improve resource recovery and to reduce the rights of land owners through its correlative rights mandate. They are task with overseeing the disposal of all toxic waste produced by companies such as Alaska Oil, Chevron, Exxon and BP Alaska.

    According to the ??? Inlet Keeper??? these companies are ???legally??? pumping 2 Billion Gallons of toxic waste into the fisheries of Cook Inlet annually. Governor Pain is one of three controlling members of this group comprised of One Geologist, One Petroleum Engineer and one public member, ie Palin.

    Wow! its no wonder they picked her for VP. The media chooses to ignore or not care about these facts. Just as with the mis-information they brought us with Iraq they have again been bought and paid for by special interest. Yes afraid of going against the powerful political machine of the Bush administrative and detrimental to the public of the United States and rest of the world; our news media is again not reporting the facts! Surprised; no I???m not but you should be!

    The oil companies are once again putting their own candidate into office. They are selling us a Miss America candidate with her cute little smile in a business suit. A candidate who is in charge of and has been responsible for saving oil companies billions by letting them pump two billion gallons of toxic waste into the Cook Inlet and Ice Fields of Alaska annually . You wonder why the Ice is melting maybe it???s the Billions of Gallons of toxic waste compliments of our own greed and unwillingness to reduce our dependence on oil!

    Vote for Real Change vote against the Emirates of Alaska and their Palin Pawn, the Mavericks and Cowboys of Arizona, Texas and beyond!

    Vote Obama! Make history Make a Difference!

    http://groups.google.com/group/mccain-palin-and-the-oil-industry

  • Posted By: Mimi13 @ 09/15/2008 11:25:11 PM

    In what universe are you living? There is a systematic effort in most Republican states to quash the minority vote by various means -- some legal, most not. Ohio 2004, for example, there were an abundance of new voting machines in wealthy GOP districts and a shortage of machines and broken machines in the inner city areas of Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus, as well as in districts around college communities. The result: long lines in Democratic areas that left many unable to vote. The new hope for Democrats in Ohio is a new law that allows people to register and vote by mail in the same day, a great tool for turning out college voters.

    In Indiana, voters must have either a driver's license or a state-issued ID card to vote -- a ruling that adversely affects the elderly, the poor and minorities. In Florida, the options for ID are quite liberal, but the name on the registration list must match the name on the ID exactly -- something that impact Hispanics who frequently use last names from both mother and father, as well as some Southerners who routinely use nicknames instead of formal given names.

    There has NEVER been any document piece of research to indicate that voter fraud at the polling place is an issue in this country, even though the GOP likes to throw up this boogyman to justify restrictive voting regulations. In fact, voter fraud is far more likely to occur with absentee ballots -- but GOP takes no action on this because the majority of absentee voters are Republican. RE: the Indiana law, from The Nation, Jan. 28, 2008:

    The more restrictive the law, the greater the likelihood that it will tip a close election by turning away legal voters--mostly the poor, minorities and the elderly. It's not a coincidence that these voters tend to vote Democratic. In fact, the State of Indiana, in its filings with the Supreme Court, admits that the litigation represents "politics by other means." This flippant attitude toward the right to vote permeates the state's argument."

  • Posted By: Mimi13 @ 09/15/2008 3:59:43 PM

    You are aware, are you not, that Gov. Palin imposed a WINDFALL PROFITS TAX on every barrel of oil leaving Alaska this year. That's on top of the four other state taxes on oil. Alaska gets its share for Alaskans -- every man, woman and child got $3200 from oil taxes this year -- and the heck with the rest of the country. Check Palin's record before you sing her praises.

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