Debate Fact Check: Palin and Biden "Mangled" Some Facts

by Deb Cupples |  My post yesterday about the vice-presidential debate focused on Sarah Palin's improved yet iffy performance.  A commenter by the name of "Close Observer" suggested that fairness required me to point out the errors and performance problems of both candidates.  He made a good point, so here goes.

According to FactCheck.org, both Sarah Palin and Joe Biden either got some facts wrong during Thursday's debate or outright misrepresented some facts.

With my mind-reading skills still in New England (hoping to witness the changing color of tree leaves), I don't know whether either candidate had --

• Intentionally lied;


• Mixed up facts; or


• Knee-jerk made assertions, despite an absence of factual basis, simply to give the appearance of winning a given point at a given moment.

Whatever happened inside the candidates' heads, below is FactCheck's summary of its analysis of errors made by Palin and Biden:

" Biden and Palin debated, and both mangled some facts.

• "Palin mistakenly claimed that troop levels in Iraq had returned to 'pre-surge' levels. Levels are gradually coming down but current plans would have levels higher than pre-surge numbers through early next year, at least.   
     
• "Palin repeated a false claim that Obama once voted in favor of higher taxes on 'families' making as little as $42,000 a year. He did not. The budget bill in question called for an increase only on singles making that amount, but a family of four would not have been affected unless they made at least $90,000 a year.

• "Biden wrongly claimed that McCain 'voted the exact same way' as Obama on the budget bill that contained an increase on singles making as little as $42,000 a year. McCain voted against it. Biden was referring to an amendment that didn't address taxes at that income level.

• "Palin claimed McCain’s health care plan would be 'budget neutral,' costing the government nothing. Independent budget experts estimate McCain's plan would cost tens of billions each year, though details are too fuzzy to allow for exact estimates.   
     
• "Biden wrongly claimed that McCain had said 'he wouldn't even sit down' with the government of Spain. Actually, McCain didn't reject a meeting, but simply refused to commit himself one way or the other during an interview.   
  

• "Palin wrongly claimed that 'millions of small businesses' would see tax increases under Obama’s tax proposals. At most, several hundred thousand business owners would see increases...." (Fact Check)

The full analysis is worth reading, and it's on the same page as the summary.

Other Buck Naked Politics Posts:

* VP Debate Success: Palin Avoids Looking 100% Moronic

* McCain Campaign Aides Make Palin Look Moronic Again

* Obama Picks Biden, McCain Responds

* Bush Signs Bailout Bill, Taxpayers Say Hail Marys

* AIG Spent $61 Billion of Bailout Funds and....

* Door in Face: Administration Dupes Congress re: Bailout Deal

* Against Bailout Before he Was For it: Why Does Gingrich Speak?

* Did Bailout Really Cause Dow to Drop?  Bailout Fans Say So

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Comments

[Peggy McGilligan]

Talk about a learning curve, all hopes rest on Governor Palin at the Vice Presidential Debate, no thanks to Katie Couric and Charlie Gibson. Ms. Palin knocks it out of the ballpark; again. There’s an observation I'd like to make about Democrats though. A faux pas they commit with increased regularity. Now if you don't like Bozo the clown, if you feel that he’s a particularly bad clown and bad for the country, why then don a Bozo wig, a pair of size 14 shoes, and a rubber nose whenever denouncing Bozo?

If there’s an official uniform of the president, it's the pastel blue tie, white shirt, and dark suit first popularized by George W. Bush. The color scheme comes from the presidential flag. No other American president made those colors his distinctive style before George W. Bush. In 2004, Bill Clinton even had his presidential portrait painted wearing George W's signature garb. Although the 1960 Kennedy vs. Nixon debate was televised in black & white, people still argue the significance dark blue vs. grey played during the election.

But there remains no ambiguity about which candidate wore what color (Kennedy, blue). Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. And, the fashion police have long memories. Ms. Palin dressed for and aced the debate. Note: before castigating Bozo, please try not to emulate Bozo. It makes one look like a Bozo. Unlike foppish Al Gore, Joe Biden and others, we must not allow our inner bozos to dictate our thoughts and actions, much less our mode of dress: http://theseedsof9-11.com

[Deb Cupples (Buck Naked Politics)]

Peggy,

I think that Gov. Palin "knocked the ball out of the park" 1) only in terms of delivery style (as opposed to substance); and 2) partly because the public's expectations were so low, PRECISELY because of how badly Palin performed with Charlie and Katie.

On the other hand, I think Gov. Palin's black suit was the perfect choice.