I Know...Let's Play a Game

Let's play a true or false game.

Ready?

Here goes:

1. True or false: McCain voted “the exact same way” as Obama to increase taxes on Americans earning just $42,000.

False. McCain DID NOT VOTE THAT WAY. Joe Biden said that he did.

2. True or False: Barack Obama never said that he would sit down unconditionally with Mahmoud Ahmedinijad of Iran.

False. Barack Obama specifically said he would sit down unconditionally with Mahmoud Ahmedinijad of Iran. Joe Biden said Obama never said that. Not only DID Obama say that, Joe Biden chided him for it after he said it.

3. True or False: Joe Biden has opposed offshore drilling and even compared offshore drilling to “raping” the Outer Continental Shelf.”

True. But in last night's debate Joe Biden declared, "Drill we must."

4. True or False: John McCain and Barack Obama voted the same way against funding the troops in the field.

False. John McCain opposed a bill that included a timeline, Joe Biden supported it. In last night's debate he said they voted the same way.

5. True or False: Biden recently told a voter that he is against clean coal and any new coal plants in America and has a record of voting against clean coal and coal in the U.S. Senate.

True. It was in a widely televised program and is a matter of public record. Yet last night Joe Biden declared that he has always been in favor of "clean coal."

6. True or False: Biden is exaggerating and overstating John McCain’s record voting for alternative energy when he says he voted against it 23 times.

True. Joe Biden gave a specific number: 23. John McCain voted a couple of times against bills providing funding for alternative energy research when he discovered thousands of dollars worth of unrelated earmarks in the bills.

7. True or False: McCain will raise taxes on people's health insurance coverage.

Ooops! This one is hard to say. McCain's plan, which at its peak would cover 5 million of the uninsured, would increase the deficit by $1.3 trillion over 10 years. Obama's plan, which would cover 34 million of the uninsured, would cost $1.6 trillion over that time period. This might require tax increases if spending is not cut somewhere else.

8. True or False: Palin supported a windfall profits tax in Alaska.

False. Joe Biden said she did. But she did not. She reformed the state tax and revenue system, it's not a windfall profits tax.

9. True of False: Military commanders in Iraq said the principles of the surge could not be applied to Afghanistan.

False. Joe Biden said that they said that, but they did not. The commander of NATO's International Security Assistance Force Gen. David D. McKiernan said that there were principles of the surge strategy, including working with tribes, that could be applied in Afghanistan.

10. True or False: McCain's plan would weaken regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

False. Joe Biden said it would. McCain actually called for more regulation on Fannie and Freddie.

11. True or False: Joe Biden said that John McCain was “dead wrong on Iraq.”

True. He said that. But Joe Biden shared the same vote to authorize the war and differed on the surge strategy where they John McCain has been proven right.

12. True or False: The Obama-Biden tax plan would raise taxes on individuals making $200,000 or more.

True. But Joe Biden said in last night's debate that the figure was $250,000.00.

13. True or False: The economic rescue legislation matches the four principles that Obama laid out.

False. In reality it doesn’t meet two of the four principles that Obama outlined on Sept. 19, which were that it include an emergency economic stimulus package, and that it be part of “part of a globally coordinated effort with our partners in the G-20.”

14. True or False: Under Obama, Americans won't pay any more in taxes than they did under Reagan.

False. Joe Biden said taxes under Barack Obama's plan would be no more than they were under the Reagan administration. But they would be substantially higher.

Let's be Fair

Here are some things Sarah Palin said that were at least off the mark;

1. Palin mistakenly claimed that troop levels in Iraq had returned to “pre-surge” levels. Levels are gradually coming down but current plans would have levels higher than pre-surge numbers through early next year, at least.

2. Palin repeated a false claim that Obama once voted in favor of higher taxes on “families” making as little as $42,000 a year. He did not. The budget bill in question called for an increase only on singles making that amount, but a family of four would not have been affected unless they made at least $90,000 a year.

3. Palin claimed McCain’s health care plan would be “budget neutral,” costing the government nothing. Independent budget experts estimate McCain's plan would cost tens of billions each year, though details are too fuzzy to allow for exact estimates.

4. Palin wrongly claimed that “millions of small businesses” would see tax increases under Obama’s tax proposals. At most, several hundred thousand business owners would see increases.

5. Palin got newly appointed Gen. David D. McKiernan's name wrong when she called him McClellan.

6. Palin said, "We're circulating about $700 billion a year into foreign countries" for imported oil, repeating an outdated figure often used by McCain. At oil prices current as of Sept. 30, imports are running at a rate of about $493 billion per year.

7. Palin criticized Obama for voting for the 2005 energy bill and said, “that’s what gave those oil companies those big tax breaks.” It’s a false attack Sen. Hillary Clinton used against Obama in the primary, and McCain himself has hurled. It’s true that the bill gave some tax breaks to oil companies, but it also took away others. And according to the Congressional Research Service, the bill created a slight net increase in taxes for the oil industry.

Take a look at the differences in the nature of Palin's misstatements compared to those of Joe Biden.