2008-05-09T11:25:30Z tag:blog.washingtonpost.com,2008:/fact-checker//344 Copyright (c) 2008, WashingtonPost.Newsweek Interactive 2008-05-09T11:25:30Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-05-09:/fact-checker/2008/05/the_tuskegee_experiment_part_i.html

Rosie O'Donnell "The government did give syphilis to black Americans for 40 years. What [Rev. Jeremiah Wright] was saying is in his history, in his genetic memory, he knows what it's like for the government to infect his own people. Because he lived through those Tuskegee experiments." --Rosie O'Donnell, May 5, NBC Today Show. Some myths are practically impossible to eradicate, particularly when they are repeated by trusted public figures. Long before the Rev....Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Michael Dobbs 2008-05-08T16:56:17Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-05-08:/fact-checker/2008/05/how_unpopular_is_george_bush.html

Karl Rove and friend. Columbus, Ohio: You boldly predicted that Bush's approval ratings would rebound -- instead he is, according to Gallup, the most unpopular president in history. Will you finally admit that your vision for this nation has been overwhelmingly rejected by the majority of the people? Karl Rove: Get your facts right -- there are at least three president who had worse approval ratings, Truman, Johnson and Nixon. I'm absolutely positive history...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Michael Dobbs 2008-05-08T16:47:52Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-05-07:/fact-checker/2008/05/a_geppetto_for_bill_clinton.html

Clinton rally, Indianapolis, Ind., May 6, 2008. "Tonight we've come from behind, we've broken the tie, and thanks to you it's full speed on to the White House." --Hillary Clinton, May 6, 2008. Brave, defiant words from Hillary Clinton. But observe the facial expressions. For many people watching television on Tuesday night, the most striking impression from the Clinton victory rally in Indiana was not the words that came out of Hillary's mouth, but...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Michael Dobbs 2008-05-07T14:33:57Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-05-06:/fact-checker/2008/05/gas_tax_wars.html

The gasoline wars between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have been heating up to coincide with the Indiana and North Carolina primaries. The airwaves are full of charges and counter-charges over Clinton's plan for a three month gas holiday between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Obama says the idea is simply an election day "gimmick"; Clinton claims her plan will save hard-working American families $8 billion a year. An examination of the fine print...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Michael Dobbs 2008-05-06T12:43:10Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-05-05:/fact-checker/2008/05/wrights_wild_charges.html

National Press Club, April 28, 2008. "The government lied about the Tuskegee experiment. They purposely infected African American men with syphilis. Governments lie. ...The government lied about inventing the HIV virus as a means of genocide against people of color. Governments lie." --Jeremiah Wright sermon, April 13, 2003. The Rev. Jeremiah Wright has been claiming that the U.S. government invented the HIV virus as "a means of genocide" against African-Americans for at least five...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Michael Dobbs 2008-05-05T16:20:41Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-05-02:/fact-checker/2008/05/citizen_mccain.html

Coco Solo, Panama Canal Zone, 1936. "John Sidney McCain, III, is a `natural born Citizen' under Article II, Section 1, of the Constitution of the United States." --U.S. Senate Resolution, April 30, 2008. On Wednesday evening, the U.S. Senate unanimously declared John S. McCain III a "natural-born citizen," eligible to be president of the United States. That was the good news for the presumptive Republican nominee, who was born nearly 72 years ago in...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Michael Dobbs 2008-05-02T15:35:20Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-05-01:/fact-checker/2008/05/guilt_by_association.html

Has Hamas endorsed Obama? "It's just a fact that Hamas, apparently their North American spokesperson, is endorsing Senator Obama. People can make their own judgment from that." --Sen. John McCain, conference call with bloggers, April 25, 2008. "What Senator McCain has said repeatedly is that these candidates cannot be held accountable for all the views of people who endorse them or people who befriend them...When somebody endorses you or befriends you, they're embracing your...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Michael Dobbs 2008-05-02T02:41:24Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-04-29:/fact-checker/2008/04/a_holiday_from_gas_prices.html

Gas prices hit $4 a gallon. "Barack Obama's argument that immediately reducing gas prices won't help American commuters is shockingly naive and out of touch...Gas tax relief worked when Barack Obama voted for it in the Illinois legislature, and it would work nationally now." --Republican National Committee spokesman Alex Conant, April 28, 2008. Both John McCain and Hillary Clinton have called for a "gas tax holiday" this summer to offer commuters and vacationers some...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Michael Dobbs 2008-04-29T11:19:04Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-04-25:/fact-checker/2008/04/tracking_the_fundraisers.html

Elton John fundraiser, April 9, 2008. "Peter Daou, Hillary Clinton's internet director, confirms that, by midnight last night, the campaign had received more than $10 million in web-based contributions [since the Pennsylvania primary]. Not pledges. Not promises. But $10 million transferred directly from the credit and debit cards of about 100,000 donors. --Mark Ambinder blog, April 23, 2008. A spat has broken out in the blogosphere over whether the Clinton campaign's claims to have...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Michael Dobbs 2008-04-25T11:53:08Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-04-24:/fact-checker/2008/04/is_clinton_winning_the_popular.html

Philadelphia, Pa., April 23, 2008. "The Tide is Turning. After last night's decisive victory in Pennsylvania, more people have voted for Hillary than any other candidate, including Sen. Obama." --Clinton website, "The Fact Hub", April 23, 2008. Hillary Clinton got a much-needed electoral boost from the voters of Pennsylvania on Tuesday night, when she trounced Barack Obama by nearly 210,000 votes, according to the official results. It was a very clear victory, but it...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Michael Dobbs 2008-04-25T11:53:57Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-04-23:/fact-checker/2008/04/hillarys_two_percent_college_l.html

State College, Pa., April 20, 2008. "I went to law school [and] borrowed money from the federal government at two percent interest. I bet there are some people here who remember that. There was a program called the National Defense Education Act. Our government invested in young people." --Hillary Clinton, Pennsylvania State University, April 20, 2008. Hillary Clinton has been painting a halcyon picture of her days as a Yale Law School student between...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Michael Dobbs 2008-04-23T13:35:49Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-04-22:/fact-checker/2008/04/dr_obama_and_dr_mccain.html

Montgomery County Community College, Pa., April 21, 2008. "We've seen just a skyrocketing autism rate. Some people are suspicious that it's connected to the vaccines. This person included. The science right now is inconclusive, but we have to research it." --Barack Obama, Pennsylvania Rally, April 21, 2008. "It's indisputable that (autism) is on the rise among children, the question is what's causing it. And we go back and forth and there's strong evidence that...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Michael Dobbs 2008-04-23T13:35:05Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-04-18:/fact-checker/2008/04/paying_for_the_iraq_war.html

Hillary Clinton, April 17, 2008. "I think [the war in Iraq] is the first time we've ever been taken to war and had a president who wouldn't pay for it." --Hillary Clinton, Democratic debate in Pennsylvania, April 17, 2008. Congress invented the federal income tax in August 1861 to help pay for the Civil War. But is Hillary Clinton correct in claiming that George W. Bush is the first president in American history to...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Michael Dobbs 2008-04-23T13:34:20Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-04-16:/fact-checker/2008/04/pennsylvania_democratic_debate.html

9:50 p.m. Both the McCain and Clinton campaigns are accusing Obama of giving a misleading answer to Charlie Gibson about whether his handwriting was on a questionnaire that reported him as favoring a complete ban on handguns. The Obama campaign has said that a staffer "mischaracterized" the senator's views while filling up answers to the questionnaire without Obama's input. You can see the questionnaire here. Obama's handwriting is on the first page, but tonight he...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Michael Dobbs 2008-04-18T12:36:38Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-04-16:/fact-checker/2008/04/obamas_rezko_connection.html

Antoin Rezko and Stuart Levine. "Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama was again drawn into Tony Rezko's corruption trial on Monday, when the prosecution's star witness placed Obama at a party for an Iraqi-born billionaire who was later barred entry to the United States." --Chicago Sun-Times, April 15, 2008. Proof of a meeting between Barack Obama and the Iraqi-born billionaire, Nadhmi Auchi, would be a blow for the Illinois senator's presidential campaign. Obama has repeatedly...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Michael Dobbs