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.

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.

A lesson in cherry-picking

Voting records make senators east targets for attack ads, and nobody knows it better than Sen. John McCain. The DNC is only doing what George W. Bush did back in 2000.

By Shawn Zeller :: Published on Monday, April 28th, 2008 at 07:31 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.

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.

McCain energy claim low on fuel

John McCain says energy prices would go down if the U.S. stopped filling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. They might, but not by much.

By Wes Allison :: Published on Wednesday, April 16th, 2008 at 02:54 p.m.

In the e-mail: MoveOn flames McCain

MoveOn e-mails out a 10-point attack on McCain. On domestic policy, its aim is good.

By Angie Drobnic Holan :: Published on Wednesday, April 9th, 2008 at 07:11 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.

It's Lieberman to the rescue

Sen. John McCain makes two gaffes during a trip overseas, but thankfully, good pal Sen. Joe Lieberman is there to bail him out.

By Angie Drobnic Holan, Robert Farley :: Published on Thursday, March 20th, 2008 at 07:01 p.m.

'McSame' ad goes three for four

An ad says McCain mimics Bush on Iraq, taxes, oil and health care. We say not on oil.

By Angie Drobnic Holan :: Published on Monday, March 17th, 2008 at 04:24 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.

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.

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.

5 conservative concerns about McCain

Attacks by conservatives became so sharp last week that Sen. John McCain asked for a cease-fire. Here's a look at why they're unhappy and what PolitiFact has said about their complaints.

By Scott Montgomery, Amy Hollyfield :: Published on Thursday, February 14th, 2008 at 05:23 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.

Super scramble

In the final hours before Super Tuesday, the candidates traded charges on everything from the economy to political pork. We examined their claims and found they were largely correct.

By Bill Adair :: Published on Monday, February 4th, 2008 at 07:25 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.

Showdown in Simi Valley

We check the facts from the Republican debate and again find John McCain is incorrect when he says Mitt Romney supported a timetable to withdraw from Iraq.

By Bill Adair :: Published on Thursday, January 31st, 2008 at 05:19 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.

Another flap over flip-flops

John McCain makes fun of Mitt Romney for changing positions on abortion and gun control. McCain's jibes may not be polite, but they are accurate.

By Angie Drobnic Holan :: Published on Monday, January 28th, 2008 at 07:40 p.m.

McCain's last-minute attack about Iraq

In an attack shortly before voters headed to the polls in Florida, John McCain brings up Iraq, saying Mitt Romney urges a withdrawal date. But we find Romney won't set a timetable for leaving.

By Angie Drobnic Holan :: Published on Sunday, January 27th, 2008 at 05:11 p.m.

Fumbled facts in Florida

We find some exaggerations and mistakes at the Republican debate in Boca Raton.

By Bill Adair :: Published on Thursday, January 24th, 2008 at 12:46 a.m.

Rudy's Florida pitch

In a TV ad aimed at voters in Florida, Rudy Giuliani makes claims about cutting taxes, welfare reform and a national insurance fund. We find he's mostly right on two, but wrong on the other.

By John Frank, Robert Farley :: Published on Friday, January 18th, 2008 at 07:51 p.m.

McCain's POW record attacked, again

In a flashback to 2000, Sen. John McCain faces unfounded allegations about his past. This time, a flyer from the Vietnam Veterans Against John McCain alleges he's a traitor.

By Shawn Zeller :: Published on Thursday, January 17th, 2008 at 08:03 p.m.

The fight over 'amnesty'

Heading into the South Carolina primaries this month, immigration is a hot topic in the Republican race. Specifically, Sen. John McCain's role and the issue of "amnesty."

By Adriel Bettelheim :: Published on Tuesday, January 15th, 2008 at 07:22 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.

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.

Romney's tax claim against McCain

Romney says McCain has flip-flopped on the Bush tax cuts. He's right, but McCain has an explanation.

By Adriel Bettelheim :: Published on Friday, January 4th, 2008 at 06:32 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.

History is not their best subject

Presidential candidates often make historical references to emphasize points or justify positions. A lot of the time, though, they get their facts wrong -- to the dismay of historians.

By John Frank :: Published on Tuesday, December 18th, 2007 at 05:28 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.

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.

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.

Looking for Mr. Right

Each of the candidates running for the Republican nomination for president claims to be a conservative. And each one is -- to a point.

By Wes Allison :: Published on Tuesday, November 27th, 2007 at 03:23 p.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.

Taking off the gloves in Orlando

The Republican candidates mixed it up during a lively debate in Orlando. They stretched the truth on crime and defense, while Huckabee was Pants-On-Fire wrong about the Founding Fathers.

By Bill Adair :: Published on Friday, October 19th, 2007 at 04:43 p.m.

Keeping it simple, sometimes wrong

The candidates from both parties want to distill the SCHIP debate into nuggets that satisfy their base voters.

By David Baumann :: Published on Monday, October 15th, 2007 at 05:42 p.m.

Still fighting the last war

Sen. John McCain has a history of attacking 'earmarked' spending, but his facts are in the past, too.

By David Baumann :: Published on Friday, October 12th, 2007 at 02:24 p.m.

McCain overbids on eBay

The Republicans clashed on taxes, the economy and Iraq during a debate in Dearborn, Mich. They fumbled a few facts along the way.

By Bill Adair :: Published on Monday, October 8th, 2007 at 07:33 p.m.

Romney's nuances on gay issues

Mitt Romney has consistently opposed gay marriage, but he changed positions on a constitutional amendment on civil unions.

By Miranda Blue, Ryan Kelly :: Published on Friday, October 5th, 2007 at 02:34 p.m.

Firing federal workers is difficult

McCain exaggerates when he says firing a federal worker is a "near impossibility." But experts say his broader point is true: Reforms are needed for supervisors to deal effectively with poor performers.

By Angie Drobnic Holan :: Published on Wednesday, September 5th, 2007 at 05:52 p.m.

Romney says McCain flip-flops, too

Mitt Romney sought to deflect the criticism he has faced for his change on abortion by pointing out that Sen. John McCain has changed some positions, too.

By Angie Drobnic Holan :: Published on Thursday, August 23rd, 2007 at 09:49 a.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.