Drilling down on Palin's record
By Bill Adair
Published on Monday, September 1st, 2008 at 07:08 p.m.
SUMMARY: We examine Palin's record on energy and the Bridge to Nowhere and find some exaggerations and a Full Flop.
The McCain campaign has portrayed running mate Sarah Palin as a bold reformer who opposes wasteful spending and isn't afraid to challenge "big oil." We checked the claims and found some were accurate and a couple were exaggerations. We also found she flip-flopped on the famous "Bridge to Nowhere":
• Standing up to "Big Oil." We checked Palin's claim that she stood up to that bipartisan bogeyman, Big Oil (Does anybody ever say they like Big Oil?). We found she was right. We rated that one True.
• The scope of ANWR. We found she was exaggerating with her claim that drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge would cover only "2,000 out of 20-million acres." She earned a Half True.
• Flipping on the bridge. We deployed our new Flip-O-Meter to rate whether she flip-flopped about the notorious bridge in Ketchikan, Alaska. Indeed she had, we found. A Full Flop.
Sources: See individual Truth-O-Meter items.
Researchers: Bill Adair
Personalities: Sarah Palin
Related rulings:
Sarah Palin on Energy, Friday, August 29th, 2008. Ruling: Half-True | Details
Sarah Palin on Energy, Friday, August 29th, 2008. Ruling: True | Details
Sarah Palin on Job Accomplishments, Saturday, August 30th, 2008. Ruling: Full Flop | Details
No, we don’t want to take your money. But we are more than willing to listen if you know of any facts or story ideas for the Truth-O-Meter. truthometer@politifact.com
PolitiFact is a project of the St. Petersburg Times and Congressional Quarterly to help you find the truth in the presidential campaign. Every day, reporters and researchers from the Times and CQ will analyze the candidates' speeches, TV ads and interviews and determine whether the claims are accurate. >> More
