A terrorist endorsement for Obama?

John McCain says Hamas has endorsed Barack Obama. We find it's not an official endorsement, but it's certainly effusive praise.

By Bill Adair :: Published on Friday, May 9th, 2008 at 03:47 p.m.

Candidates get back to health

Sen. John McCain's new health care plan brings the issue back in focus for the presidential candidates. We check three new claims.

By Janet Zink, Adriel Bettelheim :: Published on Thursday, May 8th, 2008 at 05:45 p.m.

Polled position: gas taxes and supercars

The gas tax won't save you much and supercars will have to wait. Why can't there be an easy answer for sticker shock at the pump?

By Angie Drobnic Holan, Robert Farley :: Published on Tuesday, May 6th, 2008 at 06:39 p.m.

Even missionaries botch their facts

The latest scurrilous e-mail about Barack Obama has real-live authors, Christian missionaries in Africa, but they're no better with the truth than anonymous bloggers.

By Amy Hollyfield :: Published on Friday, May 2nd, 2008 at 02:15 p.m.

Clinton's long haul on foreclosures

Clinton — and Obama — spoke up early on mortgage problems.

By Bill Adair, Angie Drobnic Holan :: Published on Thursday, May 1st, 2008 at 03:43 p.m.

Capital gains taxes demystified

McCain gets it half right on capital gains taxes while debate moderators pin down Clinton and Obama on where they stand.

By Angie Drobnic Holan :: Published on Tuesday, April 29th, 2008 at 05:11 p.m.

Wright not Clinton's spiritual adviser

The Rev. Wright was one of more than 100 religious leaders invited to a prayer breakfast at the White House in 1998, but there's no indication he provided the Clintons any spiritual counseling.

By Robert Farley :: Published on Friday, April 25th, 2008 at 06:53 p.m.

Gas taxes, on holiday

The RNC is right that Obama once supported a gas tax "holiday," but a video glosses over some key details.

By Bill Adair :: Published on Thursday, April 24th, 2008 at 06:01 p.m.

In Pa., 11th-hour attacks on health care

As the Pennsylvania primary looms, health care takes center stage in campaign ads

By Angie Drobnic Holan :: Published on Monday, April 21st, 2008 at 06:00 p.m.

Trying to be tough on Big Oil

Dueling ads from Obama and Clinton say their opponent is weak on Big Oil. We find some truth and exaggerations on both sides.

By Bill Adair, Angie Drobnic Holan :: Published on Thursday, April 17th, 2008 at 12:58 p.m.

Vanilla in Phila.

The Philly debate was a relatively tame affair, but it brought a new controversy into the campaign: Obama's ties to a former member of the Weather Underground. We check the facts.

By Bill Adair :: Published on Wednesday, April 16th, 2008 at 09:59 p.m.

Numbers game

If a candidate is off with a statistical claim, should they earn a False on the Truth-O-Meter?

By Bill Adair :: Published on Tuesday, April 15th, 2008 at 05:58 p.m.

'Parallel public financing'? Only partly.

Small donors are a civic good, but they're not the whole picture when it comes to public campaign finance.

By Angie Drobnic Holan :: Published on Tuesday, April 15th, 2008 at 05:38 p.m.

Obama's stretch on ethics reform

Obama claims he was the driving force on ethics reform. We find he was a player but not the quarterback.

By Adriel Bettelheim :: Published on Monday, April 14th, 2008 at 06:14 p.m.

Obama is the Antichrist? Puh-leeze!

The latest chain e-mail attack on Obama distorts the words in the Bible to suggest he is the Antichrist.

By Amy Hollyfield :: Published on Wednesday, April 2nd, 2008 at 07:40 p.m.

The Iraq war, for $100 month

We find Obama is right about how much households pay for the war.

By Bill Adair :: Published on Tuesday, April 1st, 2008 at 01:46 p.m.

Manipulating the bill counts

A chain e-mail uses apples-to-oranges comparisons to assert that Obama is a more active senator than Clinton.

By Adriel Bettelheim :: Published on Friday, March 28th, 2008 at 06:01 p.m.

FACT SHEET: Clinton. Obama. Their bills.

We compare the legislative accomplishments of the Democratic candidates.

By Adriel Bettelheim :: Published on Friday, March 28th, 2008 at 06:01 p.m.

President Clinton again on attack

Former President Bill Clinton claims Sen. Barack Obama "said one thing and did another" by accepting lobbyist money.

By Robert Farley :: Published on Thursday, March 27th, 2008 at 06:09 p.m.

Gravel: I'm not dead yet

In an exclusive interview with PolitiFact, the former Alaska senator confirms his status in the presidential campaign.

By Amy Hollyfield :: Published on Wednesday, March 26th, 2008 at 05:07 p.m.

100 years of latitude

It's all over the news that Sen. Barack Obama claims Sen. John McCain will let the war in Iraq go on for 100 years. Obama is taking liberties with what McCain said, as we told you weeks ago.

By Bill Adair :: Published on Tuesday, March 25th, 2008 at 06:29 p.m.

Chain e-mail fudges tax numbers

A chain e-mail on taxes makes a lot of points, not all of them right.

By Angie Drobnic Holan :: Published on Monday, March 24th, 2008 at 07:16 p.m.

Obama's pro-Israel, anti-Israel issue

Opponents say Obama's anti-Israel associations speak louder than his pro-Israel words and votes. But are those associations real?

By Robert Farley :: Published on Friday, March 14th, 2008 at 06:50 p.m.

Keystone attacks

The Pennsylvania primary is six weeks away, but the charges have been flying fast and furiously. We check the facts on some claims.

By Bill Adair :: Published on Wednesday, March 12th, 2008 at 06:45 p.m.

Ready for the 3 a.m. call?

Clinton says she's skilled at foreign affairs because of her work as first lady on Northern Ireland, China and Kosovo. We check the facts to see what she did.

By Bill Adair, Angie Drobnic Holan :: Published on Monday, March 10th, 2008 at 06:40 p.m.

Obama's 20 years of experience

We examine Barack Obama's resume and find 20 years of public service work.

By Angie Drobnic Holan :: Published on Friday, March 7th, 2008 at 12:31 p.m.

Campaign finance: Deal or no deal?

Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama are engaged in a battle on the validity of a March 2007 agreement to accept public financing — and its $84.1-million limit — for the general election.

By Amy Hollyfield :: Published on Monday, March 3rd, 2008 at 07:55 p.m.

Spend-O-Meter vs. Truth-O-Meter, Part II

In November, the Republican National Committee oversimplified the cost of Sen. Hillary Clinton’s policy proposals. Now, the RNC does a similarly overstated assessment of Sen. Barack Obama’s plans.

By Ryan Kelly, Adriel Bettelheim :: Published on Friday, February 29th, 2008 at 06:41 p.m.

Mistakes on the lake

In the Cleveland showdown between the Democrats, Obama and Clinton get fast and loose with the facts. We find Clinton is right about Obama's committee work but is wrong that he wants to bomb Pakistan.

By Bill Adair :: Published on Wednesday, February 27th, 2008 at 06:36 p.m.

Unpacking the home mortgage plans

Sen. Hillary Clinton has promoted her plan to address the foreclosure crisis with various freezes, but she sometimes leaves crucial details out of her public comments. Sen. Barack Obama, meanwhile, takes aim at the inflated rhetoric and misses.

By Angie Drobnic Holan :: Published on Tuesday, February 26th, 2008 at 06:06 p.m.

Obama bashes Clinton on NAFTA

Barack Obama charges Hillary Clinton with flip-flopping on NAFTA. He repeats a false detail, while getting the big picture right.

By Bill Adair, Angie Drobnic Holan :: Published on Monday, February 25th, 2008 at 06:40 p.m.

FACT SHEET: Clinton. Obama. Votes.

The top Democrats offer competing visions of leadership, but their voting records are nearly identical.

By Adriel Bettelheim :: Published on Monday, February 25th, 2008 at 10:26 a.m.

Texas Two-Step

The Democratic debate in Austin was a polite affair. But we found plenty of facts to check.

By Bill Adair :: Published on Friday, February 22nd, 2008 at 03:00 p.m.

McCain sings off tune

The senator who sang "bomb Iran" claims that Barack Obama wants to bomb Pakistan. We find McCain is distorting Obama's remarks and give the Arizona Republican our Pants On Fire rating.

By Bill Adair, Angie Drobnic Holan :: Published on Thursday, February 21st, 2008 at 05:06 p.m.

Adding up Clinton's 35-year claim

The New York senator often boasts of 35 years in politics. We do the math and find one of her claims is way off, but that her general point about political experience is largely accurate.

By Bill Adair :: Published on Tuesday, February 19th, 2008 at 03:49 p.m.

Obama's "present" tension

When he was in the Illinois state senate, Barack Obama sometimes voted to block bills without formally opposing them, which has raised questions of political expedience.

By Adriel Bettelheim :: Published on Wednesday, February 13th, 2008 at 04:47 p.m.

When presidents play politics

Bill Clinton inaccurately defends his own statements from the campaign trail, while George W. Bush takes a questionable shot at Barack Obama.

By Angie Drobnic Holan :: Published on Tuesday, February 12th, 2008 at 04:56 p.m.

Hope . . . and the facts

In a Virginia speech, Barack Obama said polls show he could beat John McCain by 6 points. We find he's right about the polls, but wrong about gas prices and he misstates what Hillary Clinton's said about a bankruptcy bill.

By Bill Adair :: Published on Monday, February 11th, 2008 at 06:17 p.m.

FACT SHEET: Endorsements

Clinton has the endorsement of Jack Nicholson. McCain has Sylvester Stallone. Ron Paul is backed by a late-night radio personality named Waldo. We examine the endorsements of each candidate.

By Bill Adair, Angie Drobnic Holan :: Published on Friday, February 8th, 2008 at 06:05 p.m.

The Obama abortion debate

Obama's "present" votes on abortion in the Illinois senate become fodder for Clinton attacks.

By Bill Adair, Angie Drobnic Holan :: Published on Wednesday, February 6th, 2008 at 07:10 p.m.

Obama: Clinton too much like McCain

At the heart of a speech promoting his own candidacy, Obama charges that Clinton and McCain are too much alike at a time when Democrats need to present a clear distinction.

By Angie Drobnic Holan :: Published on Friday, February 1st, 2008 at 06:38 p.m.

FACT SHEET: Economic policy

We check out the latest on President Bush's economic stimulus package and where the candidates stand on economic issues.

By Angie Drobnic Holan :: Published on Wednesday, January 30th, 2008 at 06:43 p.m.

He said, she said

The Democratic debate in Myrtle Beach featured sharp comments by Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. We found Clinton continued to distort Obama's comments about Ronald Reagan, while other claims were closer to the truth.

By Bill Adair :: Published on Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008 at 07:10 p.m.

FACT SHEET: Immigration

A breakdown of the immigration issue, including candidate-by-candidate positions.

By Adriel Bettelheim :: Published on Tuesday, January 15th, 2008 at 06:11 p.m.

The "Fairy Tale" Fracas

A Clinton attack on Barack Obama's Iraq record turns into a campaign brawl. We look at what's a fairy tale and what's not.

By Angie Drobnic Holan :: Published on Monday, January 14th, 2008 at 06:31 p.m.

E-mail slams Obama on religion, race

An anonymous e-mail says Barack Obama belongs to a racist, anti-American church. We find that the church teaches black empowerment, not racism, and that it claims Africa as its ethnic heritage. We also find, yet again, that Obama isn't Muslim.

By Angie Drobnic Holan :: Published on Friday, January 11th, 2008 at 07:55 p.m.

Obama targets Cayman 'tax scam'

A building in the Cayman Islands houses thousands of corporations. Sen. Barack Obama calls it "the biggest tax scam on record." But until legislation currently proposed by Obama and others becomes law, it isn't.

By Alex Leary :: Published on Wednesday, January 9th, 2008 at 07:03 p.m.

Examining their Senate records

Wondering what Obama has accomplished in the Senate? Here's our examination of the candidates' Senate accomplishments, which was prompted by a New Year's Eve attack by Sen. Joe Biden.

By Adriel Bettelheim :: Published on Tuesday, January 8th, 2008 at 04:55 p.m.

Who's the candidate of change?

It’s a matter of opinion which Democratic front-runner is the candidate of change, but here are some PolitiFact rulings that might help you decide.

By Bill Adair, Amy Hollyfield :: Published on Monday, January 7th, 2008 at 07:20 p.m.

Two parties, one night

We find some truth, some exaggerations and a Pants-on-Fire falsehood at the dual debates in New Hampshire.

By Bill Adair :: Published on Sunday, January 6th, 2008 at 06:56 p.m.

Fast and furious finish

With just three days until the Iowa caucuses, the candidates are unleashing a flurry of charges -- and making a few slip-ups.

By Bill Adair :: Published on Monday, December 31st, 2007 at 05:17 p.m.

FACT SHEET: Who was in military?

They want to be commander in chief, but most of the presidential candidates have not served in the military. Our survey of their resumes finds that five of the 15 candidates have military experience.

By Angie Drobnic Holan :: Published on Friday, December 21st, 2007 at 10:46 a.m.

Obama used a Koran? No, he didn't

An anonymous e-mail claims Barack Obama is a Muslim, attended a madrassa as a boy and took the oath of office on a Koran. The Truth-O-Meter says wrong, wrong and wrong.

By Angie Drobnic Holan :: Published on Thursday, December 20th, 2007 at 01:23 p.m.

PolitiFact's greatest hits

Our Top 10 Truth-O-Meter rulings cover the Pledge of Allegiance, military shrinkage and crime linkage. We also examine whether God has a position on the Iowa caucuses.

By Bill Adair :: Published on Monday, December 17th, 2007 at 04:37 p.m.

Ridiculous, petty — but true

The Clinton campaign trots out quotes from Obama’s kindergarten teacher to prove that he’s been aiming for the White House longer than he admits. Seriously.

By Amy Hollyfield :: Published on Thursday, December 6th, 2007 at 07:19 p.m.

Giuliani left Iraq panel - or it left him

Rudy Giuliani joined the Iraq Study Group but then never made it to a meeting.

By Amy Hollyfield :: Published on Tuesday, December 4th, 2007 at 03:16 p.m.

Clinton vs. Obama: dueling health plans

Clinton says Obama leaves 15-million uncovered; he calls his plan "universal." Who's right?

By Angie Drobnic Holan :: Published on Monday, December 3rd, 2007 at 07:24 p.m.

FACT SHEET: Who has been to Iraq?

We surveyed the 16 candidates to find out which ones have visited Iraq since the start of the war in March 2003. As of December 2007, nine have. Here are our findings along with a brief synopsis of each candidate's position on the war, taken from their Web sites.

By Amy Hollyfield :: Published on Monday, December 3rd, 2007 at 05:24 p.m.

Edwards not new to populism

Barack Obama says John Edwards is new to populism, but a review of Edwards' political resume shows he has long argued the cause of regular people against economic elites.

By Angie Drobnic Holan :: Published on Monday, November 19th, 2007 at 11:49 a.m.

Obama zapped by lightning claim

The Democrats slugged it out in a Las Vegas debate. We found several claims were true, but Obama was wrong about the probability of lightning strikes vs. undocumented worker prosecutions and Richardson was way off about the popularity of Vice President Cheney and HMOs.

By Bill Adair :: Published on Friday, November 16th, 2007 at 06:32 p.m.

Decoding the Clinton records ruckus

Sen. Clinton's records as first lady are stuck in an archivist quagmire, but that doesn't mean President Clinton couldn't be helping.

By Angie Drobnic Holan :: Published on Friday, November 9th, 2007 at 12:00 a.m.

Obama targeted in chain e-mail

A chain e-mail says Barack Obama is unpatriotic because he "refused" to say the Pledge of Allegiance and did not put his hand over his heart. But it relies on a photo taken during the national anthem, not the pledge.

By Bill Adair :: Published on Thursday, November 8th, 2007 at 11:55 a.m.

What's in a resume?

The candidates have been making boasts and attacking each other over who has the most experience. We check their math.

By Michael Van Sickler :: Published on Tuesday, November 6th, 2007 at 05:13 p.m.

The "blank check" brouhaha

Obama and Clinton argue about Iran, but they agree on most aspects of U.S. policy.

By Bill Adair, Angie Drobnic Holan :: Published on Monday, October 29th, 2007 at 07:45 p.m.

Mud in your inbox

A Special Report: Chain e-mails spread rumors about candidates at warp speed. But they often distort the truth, as we found with one that falsely claims Hillary Clinton refused to meet with the Gold Star Mothers.

By Bill Adair :: Published on Saturday, October 20th, 2007 at 10:41 p.m.

Suggestions from our readers

Our special report on chain e-mails was suggested by several readers who had received the Clinton and Obama e-mails. If you have a suggestion for facts we should check, click here to email us.

By Bill Adair :: Published on Friday, October 19th, 2007 at 10:46 p.m.

Never say never

Edwards bans Washington lobbyist money, but not all lobbyist money.

By Michael Van Sickler :: Published on Tuesday, October 16th, 2007 at 04:34 p.m.

Democrats race to oppose Iraq most

To stand out in the field of Iraq opponents, the Democratic candidates are angling to be first or best or most opposed.

By Angie Drobnic Holan :: Published on Monday, October 1st, 2007 at 07:49 p.m.

Obama won health care for many

Keeping it simple, Obama's insurance claim is accurate.

By Angie Drobnic Holan :: Published on Tuesday, September 25th, 2007 at 04:06 p.m.

Biden's Iraq plan detailed enough to draw praise - and critics

More than a year ago, the Delaware Democrat offered a plan on Iraq. But he's no longer the only one.

By Angie Drobnic Holan :: Published on Friday, September 14th, 2007 at 04:47 p.m.

Does Obama practice what he preaches?

The freshman senator calls for bipartisanship. But when he votes, it's nearly always with his party.

By David Baumann :: Published on Sunday, September 9th, 2007 at 07:34 p.m.

Obama: I'm a magnet for turnout

The Democrat says he can draw black voters and young people to the polls in a big way, but experts have their doubts.

By Tom Tobin :: Published on Tuesday, September 4th, 2007 at 06:42 p.m.

Dodd exaggerates influence on Iraq

Dodd says in a TV ad that he persuaded Clinton and Obama to support a March 2008 withdrawal from Iraq. But there's little evidence he was a factor in their decisions.

By Bill Adair :: Published on Tuesday, August 28th, 2007 at 09:42 a.m.

Obama won't accept money from lobbyists . . . or will he?

Barack Obama says he is "refusing contributions from PACs and Washington lobbyists." But he accepts money from state lobbyists and others in Washington's influence battles.

By Lissa August :: Published on Tuesday, August 21st, 2007 at 12:00 a.m.

Obama Girl gets Giuliani right

He did marry his second cousin.

By John Frank :: Published on Tuesday, August 14th, 2007 at 02:23 p.m.

They all believe in God

Mike Huckabee says there are “probably plenty” of presidential candidates who do not believe in God. But the major candidates say they are all believers.

By Angie Drobnic Holan :: Published on Thursday, June 14th, 2007 at 05:41 p.m.