Says the difference between her and Barack Obama is "about 35 years of experience."
Hillary Clinton on Wednesday, February 13th, 2008 in a campaign event in Robstown, Texas.
She has experience, but maybe not at math
Sen. Hillary Clinton often boasts that she has a long resume.
Asked during a Texas campaign event about the difference between her and Sen. Barack Obama, Clinton replied, “Well, about 35 years of experience.”
But we find her math is off.
Although we find here that she is largely correct when she says she has 35 years of experience in politics, she has failed to include Obama's experience in her calculation.
By our count, Obama, who is 14 years younger than Clinton, has about one year running a voter-registration project, three years as a community organizer, four as a full-time attorney handling voting rights, employment and housing cases, and 12 years in the Illinois Senate and U.S. Senate. That's a total of 20 years in public policy matters. So the difference between Clinton and Obama is really 15 years.
We rate her claim False.
Sources: Clinton Campaign Web Site, About Hillary
Clinton Senate Office, Clinton Biography
White House, Biography of Hillary Rodham Clinton
Project Vote Smart, Hillary Clinton bio
Transcript of CNN/You Tube Debate, Charleston, S.C., July 24, 2007
VoteSmart, Transcript of interview on Fox & Friends, Jan. 9, 2008
Dallas Morning News, Clinton campaign says Texas is one big reason the race isn't over Feb. 13, 2008
Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture, Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton
PolitiFact, What's in a resume?
National Park Service, Eisenhower National Historic Site
Stateline, Governor's Paychecks Vary Widely, Jan. 23, 2001
Interviews, Suzanne Goldenberg and Sally Bedell Smith
Children's Defense Fund, Board of Directors Emeritus
Written by: Bill Adair
Researched by: Angie Drobnic Holan, Lissa August
Edited by: Scott Montgomery
Articles about this statement:
Adding up Clinton's 35-year claim
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