Douglas Holtz-Eakin. “In a previously uncovered interview from September 6, 2001, Barack Obama expressed his regret that the Supreme Court hadn’t been more ‘radical’ and described as a ‘tragedy’ the Court’s refusal to take up ‘the issues of redistribution of wealth.’ No wonder he wants to appoint judges that legislate from the bench.” –McCain economics adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin With just over a week to go until the election, the McCain campaign is stepping up its efforts to portray Barack Obama as a closet “socialist” bent on implementing a major redistribution of wealth in American society. The Illinois Democrat’s remarks to “Joe the Plumber” on “spreading the wealth around” are Exhibit A in the Son of Karl Marx argument. Exhibit B is a newly-discovered interview that Obama gave to a Chicago public radio station back in 2001 in which he mentioned the R-word several times in a generally positive context.

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Campaigning in the rain. “And when it comes to the issue of taxes, saying that John McCain is running for a third Bush term isn’t being fair to George W. Bush… Not even George Bush proposed a plan that would leave out 100 million middle class families.” –Barack Obama, Chester, Pa., October 28, 2008 It has reached the stage of the “closing arguments.” As he tries to clinch his case for a vote against John McCain on Nov. 4, Barack Obama repeats the claim that his rival’s tax plan provides no benefit for “100 million middle class families.” But where does the Land-of-Lincolner get his figures? The Facts The principal McCain tax cut for middle-income Americans is a doubling of the dependent exemption, from $3,500 to $7,000, to be phased in over the next decade. In other words, if you are a married couple with two children, you will

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Palin in Ohio, October 29, 2008. “We’re building a nearly $40 billion natural gas pipeline — which is North America’s largest and most expensive infrastructure project ever — to flow those sources of energy into hungry markets.” –Sarah Palin, Vice Presidential Debate, October 2, 2008 “That pipeline will be a lifeline — freeing us from debt, dependence, and the influence of foreign powers that do not have our interests at heart.” –Sarah Palin, Toledo, Ohio, October 29, 2008 In a major speech Wednesday on how to achieve energy independence, Sarah Palin drew attention once again to a huge natural gas pipeline project that will connect Alaska with the Lower 48. The pipeline has been under discussion for more than three decades — but work has not yet begun and there is still no guarantee that it will ever be built. So what exactly has been accomplished during the two

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Columbia University professor Rashid Khalidi. “I don’t care much about an old, washed-up unrepentant terrorist, and his wife who was on an FBI top 10 wanted list. But we should know about their relationship, including apparently information that is held by the Los Angeles Times concerning an event that [William] Ayers attended with a PLO spokesman.” –John McCain, Interview with Radio Mambi, October 29, 2008 On the eve of Halloween, the McCain campaign has come up with a new villain to scare away votes from Barack Obama. He is Rashid Khalidi, professor of Arab Studies at Columbia University, and an Obama associate from his days at the University of Chicago. Regarded as a mainstream scholar by many American Middle East experts, Khalidi has been denounced as an “extremist” by some Jewish groups because of his pro-Palestinian views and sharp criticism of Israel. The Republican candidate is now tying to

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Obama Infomercial. “For my energy plan, my economic plan, and the other proposals you’ll hear tonight, I’ve offered spending cuts above and beyond their cost.” –Barack Obama infomercial, October 29, 2008 Barack Obama has outlined a series of new spending initiatives ranging from health care to education to the war in Afghanistan that could end up costing $1 trillion over his first term, according to independent experts. In his half-hour infomercial on Wednesday evening, the senator from Illinois repeated earlier assurances that he had “offered spending cuts” to pay for every cent of the post-election bonanza that he plans to shower on his fellow Americans. Do Obama’s figures add up? The Facts Obama’s claim is artfully worded. Note that, in contrast to his Republican rival, he does not claim that he will balance the federal budget after four years. That seems a virtually impossible task — given the fact

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The Fact Checker is shutting up shop on Nov. 4. Over the last 15 months, I have checked some 200 claims and statements relating to the presidential campaign, and received 18,000 comments, many of them vehemently disputing my verdicts. Pinocchios have entered the campaign lexicon, and are sometimes used as a verb, e.g. “You were Pinocchio’ed for that statement.” I will leave it up to readers to decide whether the whole experiment has been worthwhile. For this farewell edition, here are a few of my personal favorites from the long, winding campaign trail. Barack the Recidivist “”We have more work to do when more young black men languish in prison than attend colleges and universities across America.” –Barack Obama, July 12, 2007 Obama repeated this hoary old chestnut several times, mainly in front of African American audiences. It’s untrue. Four Pinocchios. *** Rudy’s Prostate “I had prostate cancer, five,

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Anti-McCain Medicare ad. “How would your Golden Years turn out under John McCain? His healthcare plan would cut Medicare by $800 billion. That means a 22% cut in benefits. Higher premiums and co-pays. More expensive prescription drugs. Nursing home care could suffer. After a lifetime of work, seniors’ healthcare shouldn’t be a gamble. Senator McCain’s plan? It’s not the change we need.” –Obama “Your Golden Years” ad. Barack Obama has been telling seniors that their hard-won Medicare benefits are at risk if his rival wins the election. The message has been hammered home in a series of speeches and television ads, including the one shown above, set against the backdrop of spinning lottery balls. Is it true, as Obama claims, that the Republican presidential candidate is planning to “gamble” with Medicare benefits? The Facts The Obama claim rests primarily on a Wall Street Journal interview with McCain’s top economic

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McCain “proud” of anti-Obama mailer. “Barack Obama Thinks Terrorists Just Need a Good Talking To.” –John McCain mailer. Barack Obama “said [William Ayers] was just a guy in the neighborhood. He wasn’t just a guy in the neighborhood. We need to know the full extent of that relationship.” –John McCain, Fox News Sunday, Oct. 19, 2008. Politicians routinely twist each other’s quotes. Sometimes, all it takes to construct a false straw man argument is the addition of a single, seemingly inconsequential word to an otherwise accurate quote. Take the common, four-letter, word “just.” Surreptitiously inserting the “just” word into a quote can transform a bland statement into a falsehood or a dangerous policy position. The sentence “He is just a guy in my neighborhood” has an altogether different meaning from “He is a guy in my neighborhood.” The Facts William Ayers is a former leader of the Weather Underground

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Kennedy and Khrushchev, Vienna, June 1961. “Mark my words. It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy. The world is looking. We’re about to elect a brilliant 47-year old senator president of the United States of America…Watch, we’re gonna have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy.” –Joe Biden, Seattle Fundraiser, October 19, 2008. “I sat in the cockpit on the flight deck of the USS Enterprise off of Cuba [during the 1962 Cuban missile crisis.] I had a target. I know how close we came to a nuclear war and I will not be a president that needs to be tested. I have been tested. Senator Obama has not.” –John McCain, Harrisburg, PA, October 21, 2008. John McCain has seized on an unguarded comment by Democratic vice-presidential hopeful Joe Biden at a Seattle

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Palin on CBN. “To withhold medical intervention for a baby who is born alive as a result of a botched abortion and to allow that child to die without the medical intervention that that child deserves, it’s appalling to me and I think it should concern voters.” –Sarah Palin, interview with Christian Broadcasting Network, Oct. 21, 2008. According to Sarah Palin, Barack Obama’s position on abortion is “so far left, it’s way beyond the mainstream.” The Republican vice presidential hopeful says that she is “most troubled” by Obama’s opposition, as an Illinois state senator, to a “Born Alive” bill that would have guaranteed medical protection to children born as a result of a bungled abortion. The Obama campaign describes the Palin attack as “dishonest” and “insulting.” Is it true that Obama was ever in favor of withholding medical treatment for babies born alive as a result of a botched

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