Vanilla in Phila.
By Bill Adair
Published on Wednesday, April 16th, 2008 at 9:59 p.m.
Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were just a few blocks from Independence Hall, but their debate on April 16, 2008 had few fireworks. It did, however, raise a new controversy that had already been simmering on conservative blogs: Obama's ties to a former member of the Weather Underground.
Clinton spent much of the debate suggesting that Obama's background had not been fully explored. Obama said voters were tired of campaign sniping that distracted from critical issues.
We checked several facts from the debate:
• Clinton correctly characterized the relationship between Obama and William Ayers, a former member of the Weather Underground, earning another True.
• Obama accurately described income inequality, saying it was the largest gap since the 1920s. We rated that True.
• Clinton was right that Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has recently said he has doubts about what the U.S. says happened in the Sept. 11 attacks. We rated that one True.
We want to hear your suggestions and comments. For tips or comments on our campaign promise database, please e-mail the Obameter. If you are commenting on a specific promise, please include the promise number. For comments about our Truth-O-Meter or Flip-O-Meter items, please e-mail the Truth-O-Meter. We’re especially interested in seeing any chain e-mails you receive that you would like us to check out.
PolitiFact is a project of the St. Petersburg Times to help you find the truth in American politics. Reporters and editors from the Times fact-check statements by members of Congress, the White House, lobbyists and interest groups and rate them on our Truth-O-Meter. We’re also tracking more than 500 of Barack Obama’s campaign promises and are rating their progress on our new Obameter. >> More
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