As Obama Campaigns His Way To The Debate, He Leaves A Trail Of Fictitious Statements, Straw Men Arguments, And Outright Lies

LIE #1: OBAMA FALSELY CLAIMED THE FAST AND FURIOUS PROGRAM STARTED UNDER THE PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATION

THE CLAIM: Obama: “Well, First Of All, I Think It’s Important For Us To Understand That The Fast And Furious Program Was A Field-Initiated Program Begun Under The Previous Administration.” UNIVISION’s JORGE RAMOS: “Mr. President, you told me during an interview that you-Eric Holder or you did not authorize the Fast and Furious operation that allowed 2,000 weapons from the United States to Mexico, and they were in drug-trafficking hands. I think that up to 100 Mexicans might have died, and also American agent, Brian Terry. There’s a report that 14 agents were responsible for the operation. But shouldn’t Attorney General Eric Holder-he should have known about that. And if he didn’t, should you fire him?” OBAMA: “Well, first of all, I think it’s important for us to understand that the Fast and Furious program was a field-initiated program begun under the previous administration.” (President Barack Obama, Univision Town Hall , Miami, FL, 9/20/12)

• Watch Here

THE FACTS: ABC’s Jake Tapper: “Asked About The Fast And Furious Program At The Univision Forum On Thursday, President Obama Falsely Claimed That The Program Began Under President George W. Bush…In Actuality, The Fast And Furious Program Was Started In October 2009, Nine Months Into The Obama Presidency.” (Jake Tapper, “President Obama Falsely Claims Fast And Furious Program ‘Begun Under The Previous Administration,” ABC News’ Political Punch , 9/21/12)

Politifact: “Fast and Furious Did Begin During The Time Obama Held Office.” “Obama said that ‘the Fast and Furious program began under the previous administration.’ That is not the case; Fast and Furious did begin during the time Obama held office. Another similar program, called Operation Wide Receiver, did happen during the Bush administration, and a recent inspector general’s report criticized both operations as ineffective and seriously flawed. But Operation Wide Receiver is not the same thing as the Fast and Furious program. We rate Obama’s statement False.” (Angie Drobnic Holan and Amy Sherman, “Barack Obama Said ‘Fast And Furious’ Began Under The Bush Administration,” Politifact, 9/20/12)

• The Inspector General’s Report “Clearly Shows That Fast And Furious Began Under The Obama Administration, Dating Its Inception To October 2009.” “A day before Obama’s Univision interview, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Inspector General released a 512-page report about Fast and Furious. ‘Our review of Operation Fast and Furious and related matters revealed a series of misguided strategies, tactics, errors in judgment and management failures,’ the report noted. The report also clearly shows that Fast and Furious began under the Obama administration, dating its inception to October 2009. (Obama took office in January 2009.) This directly contradicts Obama’s claim.” (Angie Drobnic Holan and Amy Sherman, “Barack Obama Said ‘Fast And Furious’ Began Under The Bush Administration,” Politifact, 9/20/12)

The Washington Post ‘s The Fact Checker: “Obama Earns Three Pinocchios For His Comments About Fast And Furious.” “Clearly, ATF didn’t develop the practice of gun walking under the current administration. But Obama specifically referred to ‘the Fast and Furious program,’ which unquestionably started during his term as president. That operation was not ‘begun under the previous administration.’ Perhaps the president made a mistake, and he really meant to talk about gun-walking in general instead of a particular gun-walking operation. But he could also be trying to wash his hands of any accountability for a program that launched on his watch and put 2,000 powerful firearms on U.S. and Mexican streets. Either way, we can’t let politicians get away with this sort of egregious factual mistake. Otherwise they’ll start making them on purpose. For what it’s worth, Obama has shirked responsibility for politically hot failures in the past. He earned two Pinocchios in a previous column for saying his administration wasn’t at fault ‘per se’ for the $535 million federal loan that went to the now-bankrupt solar-panel manufacturer Solyndra. Obama earns three Pinocchios for his comments about Fast and Furious. His factual error sends a message that the previous administration is responsible for gun walking and Operation Fast and Furious.” (Josh Hicks, “Obama’s Univision Denial That Fast And Furious Started On His Watch,” The Washington Post’ s The Fact Checker , 9/21/12)

LIE #2: OBAMA CLAIMED THAT COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM IS NOT COMPLETE “BUT IT’S NOT FOR LACK OF TRYING OR DESIRE”

THE CLAIM: Obama Claimed That His “Biggest Failure So Far Is We Haven’t Gotten Comprehensive Immigration Reform Done,” But That “It’s Not For Lack Of Trying Or Desire.” UNIVISION’S JORGE RAMOS: “There is something different, something personal. I don’t know what you are reading before going to sleep right now. I don’t know if you have already read the book ‘No Easy Day’ in which a Navy SEAL tells the story of how Osama Bin Laden was killed. According to many his death was your biggest achievement. What is your biggest failure?” OBAMA: “Well, Jorge as you remind me, my biggest failure so far is we haven’t gotten comprehensive immigration reform done, so we’re going to be continuing to work on that. But it’s not for lack of trying or desire. And I’m confident we’re going to accomplish that. You know what-obviously, the fact that we haven’t been able to change the tone in Washington is disappointing. We know now that as soon as I came into office you already had meetings among some of our Republican colleagues saying, ‘How do we figure out how to beat the president?’ And I think that I’ve learned some lessons over the last four years, and the most important lesson I’ve learned is that you can’t change Washington from the inside. You can only change it from the outside.” (President Barack Obama, Univision Town Hall, Miami, FL, 9/20/12)

THE FACTS: “Obama Never Followed Through” On Immigration Reform. “After promising during his 2008 campaign to take on the immigration issue, Obama never followed through, leading to disappointment among various Hispanic groups.” (Steve Holland, “Romney Appeals To Hispanics Again With Economic Message,” Reuters, 9/17/12)

The Washington Post ‘s The Fact Checker: Obama Had “Plenty Of Time To Hammer Out Deals On Non-Economic Issues” In His First Year. “It’s clear that the Obama administration had its hands full overseeing various stimulus and bailout programs during its first year, but most of the heavy lifting was done before the end of summer. And the president signed the most important piece of stimulus legislation of his term – the Recovery Act – a month after taking office. This left plenty of time to hammer out deals on non-economic issues. Overall, it’s an exaggeration for the president to suggest that he had no time to address immigration in 2009 – especially for someone who insisted that presidents have to deal with more than one thing at a time. He did, after all, set Congress on a path toward overhauling the health-care system that year, and he signed a law making it easier for women to sue employers over pay discrimination.” (Josh Hicks, “Obama’s Failed Promise Of A First-Year Immigration Overhaul,” The Washington Post’ s The Fact Checker , 9/25/12)

• Immigration “Ranked Lower On His Priority List Than Health Care, The Arms-Reduction Treaty, Repealing ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ And Stopping Pay Discrimination Toward Women.” “The fact that the president failed to lead on immigration or forge an agreement during his entire term shows that the issue ranked lower on his priority list than health care, the arms-reduction treaty, repealing ‘don’t ask don’t tell’ and stopping pay discrimination toward women.” (Josh Hicks, “Obama’s Failed Promise Of A First-Year Immigration Overhaul,” The Washington Post’ s The Fact Checker , 9/25/12)

• The Washington Post ‘s The Fact Checker: Obama Earns Two Pinocchios On Immigration Because “A Guarantee Is A Guarantee.” “The president certainly faced opposition from Republicans and even members of his own party on this issue. But a guarantee is a guarantee, regardless of whether he miscalculated the will of Congress to compromise. Obama failed to deliver on a promise, and he blamed Republicans instead of acknowledging any real responsibility for that failure. He earns two Pinocchios.” (Josh Hicks, “Obama’s Failed Promise Of A First-Year Immigration Overhaul,” The Washington Post’ s The Fact Checker , 9/25/12)

LIE #3: OBAMA SAYS HE’S ONLY RESPONSIBLE FOR 10 PERCENT OF THE DEFICIT

THE CLAIM: In An Interview With CBS’s Steve Kroft, Obama Claimed That His Policies Account For Only 10 Percent Of The Increase In The Deficit. OBAMA: “Over the last four years, the deficit has gone up, but 90 percent of that is as a consequence of two wars that weren’t paid for, as a consequence of tax cuts that weren’t paid for, a prescription drug plan that was not paid for, and then the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Now we took some emergency actions, but that accounts for about 10 percent of this increase in the deficit, and we have actually seen the federal government grow at a slower pace than at any time since Dwight Eisenhower, in fact, substantially lower than the federal government grew under either Ronald Reagan or George Bush.” (CBS’s “60 Minutes,” 9/23/12)

THE FACTS: FactCheck.org: “President Obama Is Falsely Claiming That His Administration’s Policies Are Responsible For ‘About 10 Percent’ Of The Deficits ‘Over The Last Four Years.’” (“Obama’s Deficit Dodge,” FactCheck.org, 9/28/12)

• “Obama Signed Two Bills – The 2009 Stimulus And The 2010 Tax Cut – That Alone Cost $1.6 Trillion During That Time, Or Nearly A Third Of The Cumulative Four-Year Deficit. How Could He Have Been So Wrong?” (“Obama’s Deficit Dodge,” FactCheck.org, 9/28/12)

• Obama Doesn’t Take Fiscal Responsibility For The Costs Of His Own Policies, Such As Increasing Troop Levels In Afghanistan And Expanding The Medicare Prescription Drug Program. “Obama doesn’t take responsibility for war spending, for example, even though he continued the spending and, in fact, increased U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan. He also doesn’t want to take the blame for the expense of creating the Medicare prescription drug program – although his federal health care law increased funding for it.” (“Obama’s Deficit Dodge,” FactCheck.org, 9/28/12)

The Washington Post ‘s The Fact Checker Gave Obama’s Claim “Four Pinocchios.” (Glenn Kessler, “Obama’s Claim That ’90 Percent Of The Current Deficit Is Due To Bush Policies,” The Washington Post’ s The Fact Checker , 9/26/12)

When Obama Claims Government Growth Is The Slowest Since Eisenhower, “The President Is Repeating A Widely Debunked Column That Appeared On Marketwatch Earlier This Year.” “Finally, Obama claims that ‘we have actually seen the federal government grow at a slower pace than at any time since Dwight Eisenhower.’ We regret to say that the president is repeating a widely debunked column that appeared on MarketWatch earlier this year. We devoted three columns to the column’s faulty logic, and FactCheck.org and the Associated Press also said it was bunk.” (Glenn Kessler, “Obama’s Claim That ’90 Percent Of The Current Deficit Is Due To Bush Policies,” The Washington Post’ s The Fact Checker , 9/26/12)

• “It Is Astonishing To See The President Repeat This Faulty Claim Once Again, As If It Were An Established Fact.” “As for the citing of the discredited MarketWatch column, we have repeatedly urged the administration to rely on estimates from official government agencies, such as the White House budget office. It is astonishing to see the president repeat this faulty claim once again, as if it were an established fact.” (Glenn Kessler, “Obama’s Claim That ’90 Percent Of The Current Deficit Is Due To Bush Policies,” The Washington Post’ s The Fact Checker , 9/26/12)

Obama “Can’t Blithely Suggest That 90 Percent Of The Current Deficit ‘Is As A Consequence’ Of His Predecessor’s Policies – And Not His Own.” “But Obama pushed for spending increases and tax cuts that also have contributed in important ways to the nation’s fiscal deterioration. He certainly could argue that these were necessary and important steps to take, but he can’t blithely suggest that 90 percent of the current deficit ‘is as a consequence’ of his predecessor’s policies – and not his own.” (Glenn Kessler, “Obama’s Claim That ’90 Percent Of The Current Deficit Is Due To Bush Policies,” The Washington Post’ s The Fact Checker , 9/26/12)

“But At Some Point, A President Has To Take Ownership Of His Own Actions.” (Glenn Kessler, “Obama’s Claim That ’90 Percent Of The Current Deficit Is Due To Bush Policies,” The Washington Post’ s The Fact Checker , 9/26/12)

LIE #4: OBAMA CLAIMS HIS PREDECESSOR’S POLICIES LED TO THE ECONOMIC CRISIS

THE CLAIM: Obama Suggests That Gov. Romney Would “Double Down On The Same Trickle-Down Policies That Led To The Crisis In The First Place.” OBAMA: ” Now Governor Romney believes that with even bigger tax cuts for the wealthy, and fewer regulations on Wall Street, all of us will prosper. In other words, he’d double down on the same trickle-down policies that led to the crisis in the first place.” (Obama For America Ad, Barack Obama: Table , 9/26/12)

•  THE CLAIM: Bill Clinton Said That The Republican Plan “Is What Got Us Into Trouble In The First Place.” OBAMA: “This election to me is about which candidate is more likely to return us to full employment. This is a clear choice. The Republican plan is to cut more taxes on upper income people and go back to deregulation. That is what got us into trouble in the first place.” (Obama For America Ad, Bill Clinton: Clear Choice For America , 8/25/12)

THE FACTS: The Washington Post ‘s The Fact Checker Gave Obama And Clinton’s Claims “Three Pinocchios.” (Glenn Kessler, “Obama’s Claim That The Bush Tax Cuts Led To The Economic Crisis,” The Washington Post’ s The Fact Checker , 10/1/12)

• Some Note The “Irony” That Many Of The Policies That Were Actually Causes Of The Financial Crisis Were Signed Into Law By President Clinton. “But others would note the irony of Clinton citing the perils of deregulation under Bush because he also is culpable. Clinton signed into law a repeal of the Glass-Steagall law that separated commercial and investment banks – a policy shift that some have said also played a role in the economic crisis. Moreover, Clinton also signed into law the Commodity Futures Modernization Act, which essentially removed derivatives contracts from regulatory oversight. By many accounts, derivatives, such as the credit default swap, were at the heart of the financial crisis.” (Glenn Kessler, “Obama’s Claim That The Bush Tax Cuts Led To The Economic Crisis,” The Washington Post’ s The Fact Checker , 10/1/12)

The Obama Campaign’s Backup For The Assertion Rested With A Columnist Who Refuted The Characterization. “While one can argue whether deregulation under Clinton or Bush played a bigger role in the financial crisis, the notion that the Bush tax cuts ‘led’ to the 2008 crisis is especially puzzling. The campaign’s back-up material for the Obama ad cites only one source – a column by our colleague Ezra Klein. … Just to be sure, we checked with Klein, and here is how he responded: ‘I am absolutely not saying the Bush tax cuts led to the financial crisis. To my knowledge, there’s no evidence of that.’” (Glenn Kessler, “Obama’s Claim That The Bush Tax Cuts Led To The Economic Crisis,” The Washington Post’ s The Fact Checker , 10/1/12)

• “Moreover, It Is Rather Strange For The Campaign To Cite As Its Source An Article That, According To The Author, Does Not Support This Assertion.” (Glenn Kessler, “Obama’s Claim That The Bush Tax Cuts Led To The Economic Crisis,” The Washington Post’ s The Fact Checker , 10/1/12)

The Official Government Inquiry Into The Causes Of The Financial Crisis “Makes No Mention” Of Tax Cuts. “Indeed, the official government inquiry, the 631-page final report of the National Commission on the Causes of the Financial and Economic Crisis in the United States, makes no mention of the Bush tax cuts. The report, endorsed by every Democrat on the panel, does cite deregulation, but 30 years of deregulation across multiple administrations – not just deregulation in the Bush years.” (Glenn Kessler, “Obama’s Claim That The Bush Tax Cuts Led To The Economic Crisis,” The Washington Post’ s The Fact Checker , 10/1/12)

“It Is Time For The Obama Campaign To Retire This Talking Point, No Matter How Much It Seems To Resonate With Voters.” “It is time for the Obama campaign to retire this talking point, no matter how much it seems to resonate with voters. The financial crisis of 2008 stemmed from a variety of complex factors, in particular the bubble in housing prices and the rise of exotic financial instruments. Deregulation was certainly an important factor, but as the government commission concluded, the blame for that lies across administrations, not just in the last Republican one. In any case, the Bush tax cuts belong at the bottom of the list – if at all.” (Glenn Kessler, “Obama’s Claim That The Bush Tax Cuts Led To The Economic Crisis,” The Washington Post’ s The Fact Checker , 10/1/12)

LIE #5: OBAMA CLAIMS WE HAVE DOUBLED RENEWABLE ENERGY CONSUMPTION

THE CLAIM: Obama Claims America Has Doubled Renewable Energy Consumption. OBAMA: “We have doubled our use of renewable energy, and thousands of Americans have jobs today building wind turbines and long-lasting batteries.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks At The Democratic National Convention , Charlotte, N.C., 9/6/12)

THE FACTS: Obama’s Claim To Have Doubled Use Of Renewable Energy Is “Not True” And Increase Is “Not Impressive.” “President Barack Obama has been claiming that the United States has ‘doubled our use of renewable energy.’ Not true. Wind and solar have doubled, but total renewable energy consumption is up by about one quarter from 2008 to 2011. Plus, since wind and solar started at such a low level, a doubling may not be as impressive to voters as it sounds.” (Lori Robertson, “Renewable Energy ‘Doubled?’” FactCheck.org, 9/14/12)

• Renewable Energy Accounted For 9 Percent Of National Energy Consumption In 2011, Up From 7 Percent In 2008. “Obama has made the claim in his speech at the Democratic National Convention and at several recent campaign stops. But it’s simply not the case. All renewable energy accounted for 9 percent of the nation’s energy consumption in 2011, up from 7 percent in 2008. Measured in units of energy, BTUs, the consumption went up by about 26 percent and production went up by about 27 percent (see Table 1.1). Even if we discount hydro, which isn’t popular with clean-energy proponents, other renewable generation went, still well short of a doubling.” (Lori Robertson, “Renewable Energy ‘Doubled?,’” FactCheck.org, 9/14/12)

LIE #6: BIDEN FALSELY ACCUSES GOV. ROMNEY OF WANTING TO TAX SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS

THE CLAIM: Biden Suggested That Romney Plans To Raise Taxes On Social Security Benefits. BIDEN: “If Gov. Romney’s tax plan goes into effect, it could mean everyone, everyone, would have to pay more taxes on the Social Security benefits they now receive. The average senior would have to pay $460 more in taxes on their benefits.” (Vice President Biden, Remarks At A Campaign Event, Boca Raton, FL, 9/28/12)

THE FACTS: Biden’s Accusations That Governor Romney Plans To Raise Taxes On Social Security Benefits Is “Fiction.” “The Romney and Obama campaign traded allegations on Social Security today. Here is a quick fact check. Romney’s plan raises taxes on Social Security benefits. FICTION. This allegation from Vice President Biden today is based on the Tax Policy Center’s analysis that attempts to fill in the blanks on Romney’s promise to 1) cut tax rates by 20 percent; 2) close undisclosed loopholes; and 3) balance the budget. …Nowhere has Romney suggested raising taxes on Social Security benefits. In fact, the Romney campaign has explicitly ruled out raising taxes on Social Security benefits.” (Jonathan Karl, “Fact Check: Obama And Romney On Social Security,” ABC News, 9/28/12)

• The Assertion That Biden Himself Voted For Higher Social Security Taxes Is “Fact.” “Joe Biden voted for higher social Security taxes. Fact. This allegation from the Romney campaign is based on the Senate vote on Bill Clinton’s 1993 budget, which raised the amount of Social Security benefits subject to income tax for seniors making more than $34,000 a year. The revenue goes into the Medicare trust fund. Then-Senator Biden voted for the bill and so did Vice President Al Gore (breaking 50-50 tie).” (Jonathan Karl, “Fact Check: Obama And Romney On Social Security,” ABC News, 9/28/12)