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They built the danged fence . . . or did they?

By Bill Adair
Published on Tuesday, May 17th, 2011 at 8:10 a.m.

Related rulings:

Mostly False
"The (border) fence is now basically complete."

Barack Obama, Tuesday, May 10th, 2011.

Ruling: Mostly False | Details

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Sections of the fence on the Mexico border, like this one near San Miguel, Ariz., are designed primarily to stop vehicles.

Sections of the fence on the Mexico border, like this one near San Miguel, Ariz., are designed primarily to stop vehicles.

Remember John McCain's "complete the danged fence" ad in the 2010 campaign?

He was in a primary fight with J.D. Hayworth and wanted to show he was tough on border security. So he took a stroll along the Arizona-Mexico border with a local sheriff and said the government should "complete the danged fence."

Mission accomplished, said President Barack Obama at a speech in El Paso last week. 

"The fence is now basically complete," Obama said. We put that to the Truth-O-Meter and found that depends on your definition of "fence."

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Sources:

See Truth-O-Meter item.

Researchers: Bill Adair

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