-5 -4 -3 -2

campaign ’08

Facts,
McCain says Obama “thinks
that we can achieve energy
McCain says independence” without more
Obama requested nuclear power.
nearly $1 billion in Reality: Obama favors a cautious

Fables
pork-barrel projects expansion of nuclear power as
4 as a member of
part of a larger effort to shift to
the Senate.
renewable sources of energy.
Reality: That is an
accurate tally, as

& Fibs
kept by Taxpayers
for Common Sense,
though other Senators
requested even more.
3
Obama “Backyard” ad
Claim: McCain wants to store nuclear

Both candidates say waste in Nevada but would not allow it

to be shipped through his home state
they want to run a clean of Arizona.
Reality: Unlike Obama, McCain does
campaign. In reality, 2 support the Yucca Mountain storage
facility in Nevada. In one 2007
they are tossing mud in interview, he suggested he would not
want waste traveling through Arizona.
every direction
By Michael Scherer Obama says McCain is “no maverick”
and James Carney because he voted to support President
1 Bush’s policies 90% of the time.
Reality: The statistic is true, though voting
records are a poor measure of cross-
partisan effort, since most minor votes fall
along party lines. Obama voted with fellow
Democrats 97% of the time.

S
enators john mccain and barack Mostly True
Obama have built their political
­careers—and then laid claim to the McCain “The One” and “Celeb” ads
White House—on the idea that each disdains Claim: Obama is the world’s greatest
celebrity, on par with Paris Hilton, with the
and would not practice the gutter partisan sea-parting power of the biblical Moses.
politics of the past. Yet what was once expect- Reality: Using humor, the ads mock
ed to be a more high-minded campaign has Obama’s charisma without backing up the
-1
quickly eroded into something disappointing claim that he is not “ready to lead.”
and familiar. Both candidates have trampled
the truth, overlooked the details, trashed Obama “Seven” ad
their rival’s records and then hijacked each Claim: McCain says the “fundamentals of
other’s words miles away from the proper our economy are strong” and he “lost track”
context. And each has made a minor specialty of how many houses he owns.
of attacks that have more to do with ­character Reality: Though McCain expresses
-2 confidence about the nation’s economic
than with any new direction the nation needs strength, he regularly adds that he is
to go. Obama’s ads systematically portray determined to do more to help those who
McCain as old, forgetful and out of touch; are struggling. He owns the houses with his McCain says
­McCain’s present Obama as a lightweight wife, who manages a large personal fortune. Obama is “more
to the left than
­“celebrity” who will stop at nothing to win. the announced
Who’s the best at the worst in politics? socialist” Senator
Like squabbling children, each campaign -3 Bernie Sanders
seeks to justify its behavior by pointing Reality: The claim
fingers and insisting that the other team is based on an
Obama “Still” ad imprecise rating
lied first. But in the main, McCain has been
Claim: First elected in of Senate votes
far quicker to throw the truth ­overboard— that credited
1982, McCain is “out of
both in advertisements and on the stump. touch,” and doesn’t know Sanders for being
There are so many charges and counter- -4 how to use a computer more conservative
charges about who distorted things first or e-mail. for, among other
that we decided to spread the highest profile Reality: By focusing on things, voting
allegations, good and bad, across a grid mea- McCain’s use of technology, against an
the ad takes a clear swipe immigration bill that
suring both accuracy and substance so you both McCain and
at McCain’s age by painting
can be the judge. —with reporting by jay him as culturally out of step. Obama supported.
newton-small
-5
 -1 1 2 3 4 5

Serious McCain “Original Mavericks” ad

Claim: Sarah Palin “stopped the
‘bridge to nowhere.’”
Reality: She supported nearly
$200 million in federal pork this
year and backed the infamous bridge
until after Congress had objected to
the project.

Obama says he will

Obama says McCain
favors “ideological
policies” that would
resist regulation of
financial markets in
the face of the current
economic crisis.
Reality: While less
enthusiastic of regulation
than Obama, McCain has
proposed new regulatory
steps to deal with the
mortgage meltdown.
Obama “Pocket” ad
Claim: Instead of taxing
oil companies’ “windfall
profits,” McCain wants
to give Big Oil $4 billion
in tax breaks.
Reality: McCain wants
to eliminate some
business tax loopholes
“pay for every dime”
of his spending
proposals “by
closing corporate
loopholes and tax
havens.”
Reality: Independent
analysts say Obama’s McCain says “Senator
Obama will raise your taxes.
plans call for a net
I won’t.”
reduction in taxes
and rise in spending, Reality: Obama has proposed
increasing the budget a decrease in federal taxes for
deficit. most Americans making less
than $250,000 a year.
Obama “It’s Over” ad
Claim: Two key McCain
campaign advisers currently
lobby for special interests.
Reality: Both advisers, Charlie

M C C A I N E N E R GY: W I N M C N A M E E — G E T T Y; O B A M A I D E O L O G I C A L : C H R I S C A R L S O N — A P ; M C C A I N and B U S H : T I M S L O A N — A F P/ G E T T Y; O B A M A L I P S T I C K : S A U L L O E B — A F P/ G E T T Y
and provide a tax cut for Black and Rick Davis, are former
all corporations. lobbyists, not current ones.

Obama “Honor” ad
Claim: McCain is
running a “disgraceful”
campaign of “smears,”
and “deception is all he
has left.”
Reality: Without
providing any factual
basis, the ad uses
quotes out of context
from columnists who
are critical of McCain’s
campaign strategy.
Mostly False
Obama “Embrace” ad
Claim: McCain is “Washington’s biggest
celebrity” who would help corporations but
give “almost nothing for families like yours.”
Reality: McCain would lower taxes for the
wealthy and provide larger tax credits to most
parents and many seeking health insurance.
McCain
“Disrespectful” ad
Claim: Obama and Joe
McCain
Biden have been “dis­
“Kindergarten” ad
respectful” of Palin since
her nomination, calling her McCain “Tiny” ad Claim: Obama wants to teach
a “liar” who is “good kindergarten students about
Claim: Obama says Iran is a
looking” and who “was sex before they learn to read.
“tiny” country that “doesn’t
doing what she was told.” Reality: Obama supports “age
pose a serious threat.”
Reality: The quotes are appropriate” sex education for
Reality: Obama describes the
taken out of context. They all grades but not teaching sex
threat from Iran as serious,
suggest a sexist assault to 5-year-olds.
though he has said it’s a “tiny”
by Obama and Biden for country in comparison with the
which there is no clear former Soviet Union.
evidence.

McCain “Lipstick” ad
Claim: Obama called Palin a “pig.” The
spot also quotes CBS anchor Katie Couric
describing sexism in the campaign.
Reality: Obama used the common cliché
“lipstick on a pig” to describe McCain’s
policies, not Palin; CBS demanded that
YouTube remove the ad.
Silly