Obama Gets Fact Checked

**Terminator** · 02-28-09, 11:21 AM

Fact-Checking Obama's Speech
February 25, 2009
The president gets facts wrong about oil imports, mortgage aid and the transcontinental railroad, and more.
Summary
President Obama's first speech to a joint session of Congress was stuffed with signals about the new direction his budget will take and meant-to-be reassuring words about the economy. But it was also peppered with exaggerations and factual misstatements.

He said "we import more oil today than ever before." That's untrue. Imports peaked in 2005 and are substantially lower today.
He claimed his mortgage aid plan would help "responsible" buyers but not those who borrowed beyond their means. But even prominent defenders of the program including Fed Chairman Bernanke and FDIC chief Bair concede foolish borrowers will be aided, too.
He said the high cost of health care "causes a bankruptcy in America every 30 seconds." That's at least double the true figure.
He flubbed two facts about American history. The U.S. did not invent the automobile, and the transcontinental railroad was not completed until years after the Civil War, not during it.
He claimed that his stimulus plan "prevented the layoffs" of 57 police officers in Minneapolis. In fact, it's far more complicated than that, and other factors are also helping to save police jobs.

The president also repeated some strained claims we've critiqued before.

http://www.factcheck.org/politics/fa...as_speech.html
Goes into much more detail

Seriously some of the crap in that speech was unbelievable, basic facts you learn in grade school. We didn't invent the automobile and the transcontinental railroad was not built during the Civil War.

As for the other lies, they are just more fear tactics so he can take more control of our lives and so Nancy Pelosi can get a easy work out.

**Terminator** · 02-28-09, 12:07 PM

From NBC's Courtney Kube
Here is a little post-election truth squad on two claims in President Obama's speech today ...

CLAIM #1:
Obama: "We'll raise military pay."
Fact: The President's budget calls for a 2.9% increase in pay for members of the military -- but pay for members of the military increases every year.
Secretary Gates spoke about pay raises during yesterday's briefing, saying, "Two years ago, we went to the Hill with about the same request. It was 3 percent. And last year, we went with a request for 3.5 percent. In both cases, the Congress added to it. But it's not all that different from what we submitted in the past."
Pentagon requests for pay increase:
FY09: 3.4% increase
FY08: 3.0% increase
FY07: 2.2% increase
FY06: 3.1% increase
FY03 saw one of the larger pay raises in years, with a 4.1% increase in base salary for active and reserve troops.

CLAIM #2:
Obama: "I am increasing the number of soldiers and Marines, so that we lessen the burden on those who are serving."
Fact: This was actually a President Bush initiative -- he introduced it during the speech announcing the surge in Iraq. Both the Army and Marine Corps have been growing for more than two years now, and they are both growing ahead of schedule. The FY10 budget will likely be the last one to fund their increases.
Defense Secretary Bob Gates first spoke about this at a briefing on Jan. 11, 2007:
"First, the president announced last night that he would strengthen our military for the long war against terrorism by authorizing an increase in the overall strength of the Army and the Marine Corps. I am recommending to him a total increase in the two services of 92,000 soldiers and Marines over the next five years -- 65,000 soldiers and 27,000 Marines. The emphasis will be on increasing combat capability. ... We propose to build up from that base in annual increments of 7,000 troops a year for the Army and 5,000 for the Marine Corps until the Marine Corps reaches a level of 202,000, and the Army would be at 547,000."
Courtney Kube covers the Pentagon as a producer for NBC News.

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archi...7/1813694.aspx