I have tried to expose misinformation on both sides of the aisle. I give up fact checking debates, television advertisements, and mailings – I can’t keep up with the inaccuracies and blatant lies. I have seen intelligent people manipulated to no end – just because they see something in print. I have seen bloggers, who preach practicing an open mind, delete any comments they don’t want to read regarding an opposing view or candidate. 

The only thing I wonder now is “how did we get here?” Have elected officials moved so far off the reservation the simple truth is no longer needed or can they just not tell the difference? Is it just about printing blatant lies on the front page and apologizing on page 24 later where no one will see it? 

There are not enough people out there seeking the truth anymore and I believe this election is the political version of Jumping the Shark (which is fittingly enough a term reserved for when sitcoms start their downhill slide). 

Gone are enough free thinkers who expose half-truths and gone are candidates that seem to know the difference between right and wrong. 

In a lot of ways this election brought out the worst in our election process (negativity, racism, money spent, division, manipulation, etc). Don’t get me wrong; there are a lot of people impassioned by this election – perhaps one day they will help put things back on track. But that will only work if in addition to wanting to vote they also want to know the truth and never accept what is said at face value. 

With that said, I am done covering anything related to the election on my site (except for a comment on the outcome). It has been fun, aggravating, challenging, and maddening. 

My last thought on the subject: Listen to the candidates, seek the truth, and vote with your heart and mind…

-EndFragment–>

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With the second of three Presidential debates behind us, the intensity certainly picked up and largely stuck to my predictions. McCain came out swinging and largely had Obama clarifying his positions. Make no mistake, McCain had no real choice (since he is down in the polls) but to attempt to place doubt on Obama’s ability to be Commander and Chief. 

Post-Poll results consistently show Obama with the win this round. The majority felt Obama was more in control and communicated his position better than McCain. Both continued to run over their allotted times despite moderator warnings. With all that actual extra pontification, did they stick to the facts? Come on…this is politics… 

Fact Check… 

Question: Did Obama vote to raise taxes 94 times? 

Answer: Misleading. There is usually “extra stuff” in a bill that makes statements like this not entirely accurate. Among some of the Obama votes; Seven were for measures that would lower taxes form many, but also increase taxes on some corporations. Eleven of the votes were to raise taxes on people making in excess of $1 million a year. 23 were against proposed tax cuts and 53 were budget resolutions (which may or may not have resulted in tax cuts). 

Question: Did McCain oppose sending (more) Marines to Lebanon in the 80’s? 

Answer: Correct. Sending “more” was an important word to add and McCain better clarified his position this time (as oppose to his statement from the first debate). 

Question: Did McCain lead on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac reform? 

Answer: Mixed. McCain was a participant although his warning came a year after the legislation was introduced. He was not a “sponsor” of the bill. 

Question: Did Obama get the “second-most” money from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? 

Answer: Misleading. No donations actually come from the companies. If you measure employee contribution, Obama was second overall. However for the current election McCain leads in receiving those donations. 

Question: Is it true Obama wants to attack Pakistan? 

Answer: False. This was repeated by McCain on multiple occurrences however Obama said he would target “terrorist” in the event Pakistan would not be “able or willing” to do so. He was not considering attacking the Pakistani people or country as a whole. 

With only one debate remaining, expect the intensity (and divergence from the facts) to continue. 

Perhaps more importantly, what was your opinion on the debate? 

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Now that the VP debate is over, McCain and Obama can stop worrying about their running mates at get ready for round two of a three round debate match. 

Obama increased his lead after their first meeting due to the debate itself and McCain’s now infamous “let’s postpone the debate” attempt. With McCain just recently pulling out of Michigan (effectively conceding the state) he will need to get in a few good jabs to gain ground. 

Here is what we can expect… 

McCain 

• McCain needs to come out swinging with what works. He will probably continue to try and hit Obama on foreign policy and wanting to end the Iraq war on a “timeline.” McCain has tried to position “timeline equals surrender” so I expect a few shots in that area. 

• He will try and stay away from the economy for the most part; especially about the bailout specifically. He had hoped postponing the campaign to solve the bailout would work in his favor – it did not. 

• McCain will go after Obama’s tax plans for big businesses. 

• He will try and focus on Obama’s liberal voting record as well as Obama’s record of party line voting. Be prepared for a few “Maverick” references at this point. 

• McCain will most likely take one shot at mentioning Palin (he did not mention her by name at all in the first debate). She held her own so he may go for some “it will be great to have fresh ideas in Washington” or something. Other than that, he will keep her, again, off the radar. 

• He will continue to hammer Obama’s level of experience and I would expect another “naïve” reference in their somewhere. 

• Look for McCain to look “less irritated” in this go around. He will look at Obama and be careful of not overreacting when Obama is speaking. 

 Obama 

• Obama, since he is leading, only needs to maintain. He will try and appear confident and decisive. The last debate should be his model. 

• Unlike McCain wanting to stay away from the bailout, Obama will want it on the table. 

• He will try and tie McCain to Bush as much as possible. 

• Obama will try and clarify the differences in Health Care between the two of them. Tough call because although they are different, it will be difficult to get the points across in such a short format. 

• Obama will be sure to mention that 95% of all people will have lower (or the same) taxes. *I expect this to be a clarification response to McCain’s saying Obama wants to raise taxes. 

• He will probably clarify his exit strategy from Iraq – ensuring people although he does want our troops out of Iraq; he wants to do it right (ie: not “surrender”). He will then want to direct efforts to Afghanistan.

Check here if you want to see the FACT CHECK from the first Debate…

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With the first round of debates under their belts both John McCain and Barack Obama faired well. Initial post debate polls showed Obama with a slight edge (in winning the debate) but certainly not enough to say he had an outright victory. A couple key points/statements needed some fact checking… 

Question: Does McCain almost always agree with Bush? (As stated by Obama) 

Answer: According to Congressional Quarterly, Mccain has voted for Bush favored bills 90% of the time. He is among only six others with similar track records. (Obama voted with Bush 40% of the time and Joe Biden 54%) 

Question: Is Obama the most liberal U.S. Senator? (as stated by McCain) 

Answer: Although a fairly subjective statement it is fair to say he is more liberal than some other Democrats. The ADA gave Obama a 75 percent score in 2007, 95 in 2006, and 100 in 2005. The ACU gave him a lifetime score of 7.67 (far from being the “most liberal”). Consensus; Obama certainly is one of the most liberal. 

Question: Did McCain vote against deploying troops to Lebanon? (As stated by McCain). 

Answer: Not exactly. The Marines went into Lebanon in 1982. McCain went into Congress in 1983 – he was not part of the vote. What McCain did note for (in relation to Lebanon) was the War Powers Act. 

Question: McCain stated that Dwight Eisenhower wrote two letters on the eve of D-Day (one in the event of victory and the second being his resignation in the event of failure). Did he? 

Answer: There was no second letter and Eisenhower did not offer his resignation. The letter actually says, “The troops, the air and the navy did all that bravery and devotion to duty could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt, it is mine alone.” 

Question: McCain said Obama would cut off money for troops in Iraq. (As stated by McCain).

Answer: Historically Obama’s record shows that he would not cut off money for troops. Obama has voted for troop financing with only one exception. In 2007 he voted against it since it did not contain any language for eventual troop withdrawal. Another bill had such language and Obama voted for it. 

All in all, neither candidate went “off the reservation” when it came to factual information – just some slight bending or not giving all the details. 

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