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The Attack File
A scorecard checking the attacks on the candidates

Attacker:

 

Target:

Truth-O-Meter says:

McCain

John McCain

"Sen. Obama has never taken on his party leaders on a single major issue."

True

Obama's no maverick

Palin

Sarah Palin

Obama would "experiment with socialism."

Pants on fire!

The McCain campaign experiments with dishonesty

Obama

Barack Obama

"Senator McCain would pay for part of his (health care) plan by making drastic cuts in Medicare — $882-billion worth."

False

Obama knows McCain's intentions better than McCain?

Chain e-mail

Chain e-mail

Michelle Obama ordered $400 worth of lobster and caviar at a New York hotel.

Pants on fire!

Official-looking receipt is a fake

McCain

John McCain

"Obama raises taxes on seniors (and) hard-working families to give welfare to those who pay none."  

False

It's not welfare

The Truth-O-Meter
A scorecard separating fact from fiction

They said:

   

Truth-O-Meter says:

Obama

Democrat Barack Obama:

The accuracy of the Obama tax calculator

 

Half-True

Accurate for some, not so much for others

McCain

Republican John McCain:

"The McCain campaign is roughly in the position where Vice President Gore was running against President Bush one week before the election of 2000."

 

False

McCain is further back than Gore was

Obama

Democrat Barack Obama:

Obama "changed the rules in Washington. Gone are the free gifts from lobbyists. Gone are the fancy airplane rides for nothing."

 

Half-True

A player, but not the captain

Obama

Democrat Barack Obama:

"The race will tighten, just because that's what happens at the end of campaigns. They always have."

 

Mostly true

Elections tighten almost every time

The Flip-O-Meter
Telling you who flipped and who didn't

The alleged flip-flop:

   

Flip-O-Meter says:

Obama

Democrat Barack Obama:

On which team he's rooting for in the World Series.

 

Half Flip

Almost a Phanatic

McCain

Republican John McCain:

On whether the government should bail out insurance giant AIG:

 

Half Flip

McCain neither endorsed nor condemned the bailout

Palin

Republican Sarah Palin:

On whether global warming is man-made.

 

Full Flop

Earlier, she didn't "attribute it to being man-made"

On the Tube
Fact-checking the campaign videos

No, McCain's ads haven't all been negative

Pants on fire!

"And 100 percent, John, of your ads . . . 100 percent of them have been negative."

 

We found Obama was way off with his claim about McCain's negative ads.

Other recent videos we've reviewed:

Obama's video: McCain opposed law for equal pay lawsuits

More videos we've checked

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PolitiFact is a project of the St. Petersburg Times and Congressional Quarterly to help you find the truth in the presidential campaign. Every day, reporters and researchers from the Times and CQ will analyze the candidates' speeches, TV ads and interviews and determine whether the claims are accurate. >> More

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