Obama and Romney on the economy

The economy has been the central issue in this presidential race. President Barack Obama and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney have divergent visions about how to help create more jobs, sell more American goods overseas and make the nation more energy-independent. Along the way, both men have made claims that caused the Truth-O-Meter to sway in all directions. Below are some abbreviated versions of fact checks about the candidates’ statements during the campaign. Look for the complete fact checks at the PolitiFact online sites. Readers can comment on our Truth-O-Meter rulings at our Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/politifact.georgia?fref=ts.  And they can follow us on Twitter at: PolitiFactGA.  

By Eric Stirgus :: Published on Sunday, October 28th, 2012 at 09:58 a.m.

Checking the facts on China

Both sides have used China as a villain in the 2012 campaign. We've put their claims to the Truth-O-Meter PolitiFact and PolitiFact Georgia are checking statements made by the presidential challengers, who have less than two weeks until Election Day. We will be updating our online site -- www.politifact.com/georgia/ -- as more fact checks are completed. Readers can comment on our Truth-O-Meter rulings at: www.facebook.com/politifact.georgia?fref=ts. They can follow us on Twitter at PolitiFactGA.

By Jon Greenberg :: Published on Friday, October 26th, 2012 at 09:03 p.m.

Twisting the truth on windmills, pensions and prostitutes

Both sides have used China as a villain in the 2012 campaign. We've put their claims to the Truth-O-Meter.

By Jon Greenberg :: Published on Friday, October 26th, 2012 at 05:12 p.m.

Truth-O-Meter checks claims on deficit, NJ property taxes

Rep. Leonard Lance says President Obama broke promise on cutting deficit, Chris Christie claims property taxes spiked in decade before becoming governor

By Caryn Shinske :: Published on Tuesday, October 23rd, 2012 at 07:30 a.m.

Fact-checking the third presidential debate

We continue to post new fact-checking reports from the debate between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney on Monday night. The topic was foreign policy. Did you hear something you would like fact-checked? Suggest ideas by tagging tweets with #PolitiFactThis. You can also email us at truthometer@politifact.com.

By Becky Bowers, Angie Drobnic Holan :: Published on Monday, October 22nd, 2012 at 11:56 p.m.

Romney, Obama, foreign policy debate

Truth-O-Meter plugged in? Check. PolitiFact is fact-checking the third Romney-Obama debate in Florida.

By W. Gardner Selby :: Published on Monday, October 22nd, 2012 at 09:42 a.m.

Fact-checking foreign policy

In advance of Monday night's debate, we look at our recent fact-checks on foreign policy.

By Angie Drobnic Holan :: Published on Sunday, October 21st, 2012 at 08:35 p.m.

Attack in Libya a hot topic for both candidates

We fact-check claims by Mitt Romney and Joe Biden about the fatal attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi. We will be updating our online site -- http://www.politifact.com/georgia/ -- continuously as fact-checks are completed. Readers can comment on our Truth-O-Meter rulings at our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/politifact.georgia?fref=ts. And they can follow on Twitter at: PolitiFactGA.

By Jon Greenberg :: Published on Thursday, October 18th, 2012 at 05:24 p.m.

Sorting out the truth on the attack in Libya

We fact-check claims by Mitt Romney and Joe Biden about the fatal attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi.

By Jon Greenberg :: Published on Thursday, October 18th, 2012 at 04:07 p.m.

Another debate, a new round of fact-checks

The second presidential debate is in the books. A third and final face-to-face showdown between Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama is set for Monday. PolitiFact and PolitiFact Georgia checked statements made by the candidates during Tuesday’s town hall-style event. Below are some (abbreviated versions of) fact-checks on statements by the candidates or major themes they broached during their second debate. We will be updating our online site -- http://www.politifact.com/georgia/ -- continuously as fact-checks are completed. Readers can comment on our Truth-O-Meter rulings at our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/politifact.georgia?fref=ts. And they can follow on Twitter at: PolitiFactGA. Look for the complete fact-checks at the PolitiFact online sites.

By Janel Davis, Eric Stirgus :: Published on Thursday, October 18th, 2012 at 06:00 a.m.

Obama’s flawed claim about Romney and Arizona’s immigration law

What twice we rated False in Texas remained so when Barack Obama said it (again) in New York.

By W. Gardner Selby :: Published on Wednesday, October 17th, 2012 at 04:35 p.m.

Candidates mix it up in tense debate

PolitiFact and PolitiFact Georgia are checking statements made by Mitt Romney and President Obama during Tuesday’s debate. We will be updating our online site -- http://www.politifact.com/georgia/ -- throughout the day as fact-checks are completed. Readers can comment on our Truth-O-Meter rulings at our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/politifact.georgia?fref=ts. And they can follow on Twitter at: PolitiFactGA. Below are some initial (abbreviated versions of) fact-checks on actual statements by the candidates or major themes they broached during their second debate. Look for the complete fact-checks at the PolitiFact online sites.

By Becky Bowers :: Published on Wednesday, October 17th, 2012 at 07:13 a.m.

Romney, Obama and fact-checking the town-hall debate

Colleagues deliver a breaking story on who got the facts straight in the Hofstra University presidential debate.

By Becky Bowers :: Published on Tuesday, October 16th, 2012 at 11:27 p.m.

Fact-checking the town hall debate

President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney clashed at a town hall debate Tuesday night. We're putting many of their claims to the Truth-O-Meter.

By Becky Bowers :: Published on Tuesday, October 16th, 2012 at 09:20 p.m.

Fact-checking taxes in the presidential race

What are the facts when it comes Barack Obama's and Mitt Romney's tax policies?

By Angie Drobnic Holan :: Published on Tuesday, October 16th, 2012 at 04:09 p.m.

Fact-checking the new ads hitting the swing states

We’re checking ads that are saturating airwaves in key states. See a claim you would like us to check? Use Twitter hashtag #PolitiFactThis or email us at truthometer@politifact.com.

By Becky Bowers :: Published on Tuesday, October 9th, 2012 at 05:17 p.m.

Fact-checking the Denver presidential debate

President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney traded barbs Wednesday night on taxes, jobs, health care and the economy — and often stretched the facts. "Mr. President," Romney said, "you're entitled as the president to your own airplane and to your own house, but not to your own facts." Romney also would have benefited from that advice. We're combing through the pair's remarks from the University of Denver's Ritchie Center, where moderator Jim Lehrer focused on the economy, health care, the role of government and governing. We'll update this story as we post new fact-checks. Readers can comment on our Truth-O-Meter rulings at our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/politifact.georgia and can follow us on Twitter at PolitiFactGA. And we welcome suggestions on what we should fact-check. Email us, fill out the suggestion form on the Settle It! app or tweet us your ideas with #PolitiFactThis. Here's what we've checked so far: Taxes • Obama said that Romney's plan "calls for a $5 trillion tax cut." The figure accounts for only half of Romney's plan, and it's cumulative over 10 years. The governor says he will offset those lost revenues by reducing tax deductions and eliminating loopholes. However, he hasn't specified what those changes would be. The president made a misleading statement about an incomplete plan, but he did describe what the plan was missing and that Romney would not fill in the gaps. We rated the claim Half True. • Obama said that "independent studies" looking at Romney's tax plan say the only way to meet Romney's goal of not adding to the deficit is by "burdening middle class families." A reputable study from the Tax Policy Center found that to meet Romney's deficit goal, middle class taxpayers might lose exemptions and deductions worth about $2,000. So we previously have rated Mostly True a claim that Romney is proposing a tax plan "that would give millionaires another tax break and raise taxes on middle class families by up to $2,000 a year." • Romney said six tax studies look at a study that Obama described and "say it's completely wrong." Previously, Romney has claimed that five studies back his tax plan. We found that Mostly False. We saw no more than two independent studies out of the five claimed. • Obama said he "lowered taxes for small businesses 18 times." When we examined his claim last summer that his administration had "provided at least 16 tax cuts to small businesses," we rated it Mostly True, noting that conservative tax specialists say the statistic ignores proposed and enacted tax hikes on small businesses. Deficit • Romney claimed that Obama had said he would "cut the deficit in half." That's the case. We rated a claim from Crossroads GPS that Obama failed to keep his pledge of halving the deficit True. • Obama said he put forward "a specific $4 trillion deficit reduction plan." That's true if you combine the 10-year impact of his budget with the 10-year impact of cuts already approved. (For that reason, we've previously found his claim that his budget plan would "cut our deficits by $4 trillion" Half True.)   Jobs • Romney said part of his plan to create jobs includes North American energy independence. He said that while oil and gas production might be up, Obama shouldn't get credit — the increase was on private lands, not public. We have previously found that oil production on public lands dropped 14 percent in one year, but that's not the whole story. It was small snapshot, and partly because of hurricanes.  We rated a claim from Crossroads GPS that oil "production's down where Obama's in charge" Half True. Our reporting confirmed Romney's claim that Obama shouldn't get credit — but neither, perhaps, should President George W. Bush. • Romney said half of college graduates can't find a job. We've previously rated that Mostly True — about a quarter of recent college grads can't find a job, while another quarter found jobs that don't require college degrees. Medicare • Romney claimed "on Medicare for current retirees, (Obama is) cutting $716 billion from the program." That amount refers to Obama's reductions in Medicare spending over 10 years, primarily in what's paid to insurers and hospitals. But the statement gives the impression that the law takes money already allocated to Medicare away from current recipients. We rated Romney's claim Half True. • Romney also claimed that Obama used those Medicare savings to pay for his health care law. We've previously rated Romney's claim that Obama took that money from Medicare "to pay for Obamacare" Half True. The new health care law uses a number of measures to try to reduce the rapid growth of future Medicare spending. Those savings are used to offset costs created by the health care law — especially coverage for the uninsured — so that the overall law doesn't add to the deficit. • Obama claimed that the "essence" of Romney's plan for retiree health care was to "turn Medicare into a voucher program." Romney would give seniors a premium support payment toward private insurance, to replace the current system of government payments to doctors and hospitals. Generally, we think "voucher program" is a fair way of describing to voters the vision for Medicare under a Romney-Ryan administration. We rated Obama's claim Mostly True. • Obama recycled an outdated number about vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan's original Medicare proposal, saying that "because the voucher wouldn't necessarily keep up with health care inflation, it was estimated that this would cost the average senior about $6,000 a year." That ignores a more recent Ryan proposal that pegs the size of the voucher to the second-cheapest plan available on a Medicare exchange. We rated a related claim from the secretary of Health and Human Services last month Half True. Health care • Romney said that Obama failed to cut health care premiums by $2,500. That's true. On our Obameter, which tracks Obama's 2008 campaign promises, we've rated that a Promise Broken. • Obama said that Romney used the same advisers to create his Massachusetts health plan that Obama later did for his health care law. Rick Santorum once claimed that a "Romney adviser admits Romneycare was the blueprint for Obamacare." If Santorum's ad had said "former adviser," that would have been True.  • Obama claimed that Romney said his Massachusetts law was a "model for the nation." Romney later fired back that he said it was a model "state by state," not from the federal government down. We've previously found that an early version of Romney's book No Apology did advocate the Massachusetts model as a strong option for other states, as Romney said. • Romney said that Obama "put in place a board that can tell people ultimately what treatments they're going to receive." Romney avoided the more inaccurate and harsher wording of some other critics, who have falsely described the board as "rationing" care. But Romney's claim can leave viewers with the impression that the board makes health care decisions for individual Americans, and that's not the case. We rated his statement Mostly False.

By Becky Bowers :: Published on Thursday, October 4th, 2012 at 07:26 a.m.

Fact-checking the Denver presidential debate

We continue our fact-checking of the first debate between President Barack Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney. Our reports look at the federal budget, education, Medicare, taxes and the 2010 health care law.

By Becky Bowers :: Published on Wednesday, October 3rd, 2012 at 11:45 p.m.

PolitiFact parses truth from fiction in Denver debate

The debate is done, and the fact-checking has begun. PolitiFact and PolitiFact Georgia are checking statements made by Mitt Romney and President Obama during Wednesday’s Denver face-to-face showdown. We will be updating our online site -- http://www.politifact.com/georgia/ -- throughout the day as fact-checks are completed. Readers can comment on our Truth-O-Meter rulings at our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/politifact.georgia?fref=ts. And they can follow on Twitter at: PolitiFactGA. Below are some initial (abbreviated versions of) fact-checks on actual statements by the candidates or major themes they broached during Wednesday’s debate. Look for the complete fact-checks at the PolitiFact online sites.

By Janel Davis, Eric Stirgus :: Published on Wednesday, October 3rd, 2012 at 11:19 p.m.

How to check the facts during the debates

We're planning special coverage for the presidential debates. Here are some tips on how to use PolitiFact as you watch the debate. Go to our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/politifact.georgia) for full versions of fact-checks. Readers can comment on our rulings at the Facebook site. We'll also be live Tweeting the debates on Twitter (http://twitter.com/politifactga), We'll update those pages with new fact-checks throughout the news cycle.

By Bill Adair :: Published on Wednesday, October 3rd, 2012 at 06:00 a.m.