FactCheck: 100 Days of Spin

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Presidential Puffery
We've noted a tendency for Obama to puff up the problems he's facing, as well as the solutions he's proposing. For example:

He told a joint session of Congress Feb. 24 that "we import more oil today than ever before." That's untrue. Imports peaked in 2005 and are lower today.

He claimed in the same speech that his mortgage aid plan would help "responsible" buyers but not those who borrowed beyond their means. But even prominent defenders of the program in his administration concede that foolish borrowers will be aided, too.

Fact-Checking Obama's Speech
Feb. 25

He claimed in a March 10 address on education that the high school dropout rate has "tripled in the past 30 years." But according to the Department of Education, it has actually declined by a third.

Education Spin
March 18

We've also found Obama being more certain than is warranted. He is fond of repeating, for example, that his stimulus bill will "create or save" 3.5 million jobs. Maybe so; some leading economists figure that's possible, though it's far from a certainty. The immediate reality, however, is that the economy has been losing an average of 22,000 jobs per day since Obama took office.

Stimulus Bill Bravado
Feb. 13

Another example occurred April 16 during his visit to Mexico. Obama wanted his hosts to crack down on the violent drug trade and was promising that the U.S. would do its bit, too. But he went too far when he said, "More than 90 percent of the guns recovered in Mexico come from the United States." It's true that U.S. officials say that more than 90 percent of the guns Mexican officials ask them to trace are found to have come through the U.S. But Mexican officials don't ask the U.S. to trace all the guns they recover, so there's no way to know exactly how many come through the U.S.

Counting Mexico's Guns
April 17

Republican Spin
Of course, we've noted plenty of false claims made by Obama's critics, too.

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Member Comments

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Posted By: twiny1 @ 09/03/2009 12:35:16 AM

How does one argue with a dolt like this?

Show him the facts and the twisted fantasy world he inhabits won't allow him to see them.

These people are hopeless.
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Posted By: Morgan2008 @ 05/29/2009 7:23:35 PM

If you could buy Obama for what he is really worth and sell him for what he thinks he is worth,...you would be a multi-trillionaire. I think Obama and his administration are about 99% spin. Obama spends 95% of his time jetting around on Air Force One campaigning for himself and his agenda at taxpayers' expense. Just remember approximately half the voters did not vote for Obama and are looking forward to the day when a large percent of the people who did vote for Obama become so disappointed with him that they will be anxious to get rid of him and his radical agenda for America. If left unchecked, Obama will bankrupt America and his economic policies will cause such high inflation that the U.S. dollar will lose in value. Also,...Plenty of people could care less about Michele Obama's arms. It seems like the liberal media is trying to turn the Obamas into Hollywood celebrities or the Whitehouse Stepford Family for Black people since they are the first black first family. America has enough trivial celebrities to occupy the minds of some people in this country. We need a president who knows and cares how to keep America secure and economically strong.
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Posted By: nimodahooligan @ 04/30/2009 5:08:45 PM

let me ask....

do you really think McCain would have been any different? mister maverick himself... really? or anyone else for that matter?

do think we are being told the truth by our government in any aspect is delusional in the first place....

i mean i know plenty of people that are duped into think they are being told the truth, but it has been the same with every president for the last 50 years or so. nothing really new or innovative from any of them. some where merely great leaders, but not great presidents and "managers" you could say...

of course we arent being told the exact truth, no other president would have been any different or HAS been any different. im not suprised at all by this article, and as such im not afraid to admit that a human being will error or even blatantly lie, and neither should you. hes your president, hes human, hes not perfect, and neither is the "system" hes "managing" and being a part of..

washington is completely and utterly corrupt in one way or another at all levels.

there are my thoughts.

from an Obama voter (whos only choice was the lesser of 2 evils, which is what every presidential election amounts to anyway).

ps i was planning on voting for ron paul initially, but i cant feel right about throwing away a vote like that because he never had a chance... the media didnt even hardly cover him at all through the primaries.

pss- and yes, this article was one of the few political articles on newsweek that has shown the least amount of bias. and it was well written. i love exposing truth.