A recent article in the Washington Post reveals the truth behind the claims made in the 2nd presidential debate. Summary:
- Kerry claimed Gen. Shinseki was forced to retire because he said more troops were necessary in Iraq. Truth: technically not true, but close. Shinseki retired on schedule, but his successor was announced 14 months early, undercutting his authority.
- Bush claimed generals said there were enough troops. Truth: Gen. Franks said this, Shinseki said not enough, other generals said they were concerned about troop levels.
- Bush claimed Kerry was inconsistent, asserting: “He said he thought Saddam Hussein was a grave threat, and now he said it was a mistake to remove Saddam Hussein from power.” Truth: Kerry never said that, he said “the satisfaction that we take in [Hussein's] downfall does not hide this fact: We have traded a dictator for a chaos that has left America less secure.” Kerry prefaced that statement, however, by saying that although Hussein was “a brutal dictator who deserved his own special place in hell,” that by itself was not a reason to go to war.
- Bush claimed Kerry was rated the “most liberal” senator, citing the National Journal. Truth: National Journal says this is correct for the past year, but it is because he missed a number of votes due to campaigning.
- Bush claimed Kerry’s tax rollback would raise taxes on 900,000 small businesses. Truth: only under Bush’s definition of a small business, which includes every partner at a huge accounting firm or at the largest law firm.
- Bush claimed he did not own a timber company or get $84 business income from it. Truth: Bush claimed $84 income from his part-ownership of a timber-growing enterprise on his 2001 tax return. By the way, under Bush’s definition, this makes him a small business owner.
- Bush claimed he is on the verge of supporting importation of lower-cost prescription drugs. Truth: if true, this would be a major reversal. Despite overwhelming support in Congress, the White House has blocked the reimportation of US made pharmaceuticals.
- Kerry claimed he was involved in 1997 legislation that extended the solvency of Medicare. Truth: if involved means voted for, this it true, but he did nothing further.
- Bush claimed limiting non-economic damages would sharply reduce health care costs for most Americans. Truth: capping awards to $250,000 would lower malpractice premiums by 25-30%, but would lower health care costs by only .4-.5%.
- Kerry claimed that the Bush limits on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research makes it impossible for scientists to pursue medical cures. Truth: it has slowed efforts, but not curtailed them entirely.
- Bush claimed that this work “requires the destruction of life”. Truth: it depends on your definition of when life begins. The embryos are 5 days old when destroyed.
- Kerry claimed that during Bush’s reign, we’ve lost 1.6 million jobs. Truth: in the private sector. The net job loss including the public sector is 800,000. Kerry did correctly note that this is the first time in 72 years that a president has presided over a net loss of jobs.
- Bush claimed he had tripled spending on homeland security. Truth: he doubled it. Bush was including his proposal for the fiscal year 2005 and does not include non-homeland security activities under the Department of Homeland Security.
Hmmm… overall, I see more red mistatements.
