Fast and furious finish
By Bill Adair
Published on Monday, December 31st, 2007 at 5:17 p.m.
The Christmas peace has ended in Iowa and the presidential candidates are in a furious sprint to Thursday's caucuses. Today we're publishing new Truth-O-Meter rulings on several recent claims by the candidates.
Maybe the icy weather is getting to them — or maybe it's time to throw the proverbial Hail Mary pass. But we're finding the candidates are making more slip-ups and exaggerations:
* Barack Obama slipped on oil recently. He claimed that gas prices and Exxon Mobil's profits "have never been higher." He was wrong on both counts and earned a False.
* Joe Biden, the Delaware senator who once took credit for cutting New York's crime rate, has a TV ad in which he claims he ended genocide in Bosnia. We find he was definitely a vocal member of Congress on the issue but that's quite a stretch too and give him a Barely True.
* Mitt Romney misfired when he said he had received the endorsement of the National Rifle Association. We gave him a False.
* But we also gave Romney a Mostly True for a claim in a TV ad that John McCain "opposes repeal of the death tax." Although PolitiFact bristles at using the loaded term "death tax" to describe the estate tax, we find that Romney is fairly summarizing McCain's position.
Sources:
Researchers: Bill Adair
Names in this story: Joe Biden, John McCain, Barack Obama, Mitt Romney
We want to hear your suggestions and comments. For tips or comments on our campaign promise database, please e-mail the Obameter. If you are commenting on a specific promise, please include the promise number. For comments about our Truth-O-Meter or Flip-O-Meter items, please e-mail the Truth-O-Meter. We’re especially interested in seeing any chain e-mails you receive that you would like us to check out.
PolitiFact is a project of the St. Petersburg Times to help you find the truth in American politics. Reporters and editors from the Times fact-check statements by members of Congress, the White House, lobbyists and interest groups and rate them on our Truth-O-Meter. We’re also tracking more than 500 of Barack Obama’s campaign promises and are rating their progress on our new Obameter. >> More
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