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    Friday Fact Check

    By CJP | July 11, 2008

    Gals, it's been a while since we've taken you on our Internet Tour of Truth. But now that CJP Summer School is in full swing, there's no time like the present to see which fibs, half-truths and outright lies have taken root in our brains while we worked on our tan. So let's check in with our favorite fact-checkers to debunk the top bunk out there right now:
    • According to the McCain campaign, "Barack Obama voted to increase taxes on people earning as little as $32,000/ year. " FactCheck.org says that's NOT TRUE. Obama did vote for a budget resolution that called for the Bush tax cuts to expire, BUT he has said expressly that he will cut taxes for every taxpayer except those making $250,000+ annually.
    • An Obama commercial says, "John McCain wants to give more tax breaks to Big Oil." PolitiFact.com says that's BARELY TRUE. McCain does want to cut to the corporate tax rate from 35% to 25%, which would apply to all corporations. It's inaccurate for the Obama camp to imply that McCain is doing anything for oil companies that he's not doing for every company in America. Also, now seems like a good time to remember that McCain voted against the "Bush-Cheney" energy bill, while Obama voted for it.
    • Obama says his decision not to accept public financing is not "breaking his word" because he never formally promised to take public funds. However, The Washington Post's Fact Checker points to this Obama statement from September 2007, "If I am the Democratic nominee, I will aggressively pursue an agreement with the Republican nominee to preserve a publicly financed general election." and says his change of heart is a "BLATANT TURNAROUND." They give him three out of four Pinocchios for that one. Ouch.
    That's it for now, Janes. As you can tell, both campaigns are having some truth-challenged moments, but we'll be here to help you find the facts, and save the fiction for your beach read.
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