FactcheckED.orgSins of Omission Take a quick stroll through the Congressional Record, and you'll
see that there's nothing straightforward about legislation. The bills themselves are complicated: They have many parts; they go through numerous revisions, and they use jargon and language that's tough to understand. The conversations surrounding the bills are complex too, and there are often subtle differences in opinion that don't break down along party lines. Politicians can exploit this complexity to misrepresent their own opinions or those of their opponents, making issues seem cut and dried when, in fact, they’re anything but. In this lesson, students look at some claims made by presidential candidate John McCain about his Democratic opponent, Barack Obama. In evaluating whether these claims are accurate, they will see the importance of researching context and learn to be on the lookout for fallacies that exploit incomplete knowledge.ANDFACTCHECK.ORGA Full Tank of Nonsense July 22, 2008
McCain ad says Obama's the guy to thank for emptying our wallets at the filling station. We say that's ridiculous.
A McCain TV ad says Obama "voted against funding our troops." He did, once. Every other time he voted in favor.
Vets for Freedom ad attributes CIA chief's viewpoint to a critical newspaper.
An Obama ad says he'll "fast track alternatives" to imported oil. Actually, his plan is a 10-year proposal with no guarantees.
He claims 23 million small-business owners would pay higher tax rates under Obama. He's wrong. The vast majority would see no change, and many would get a cut.
It runs an ad claiming McCain voted "against increasing health care benefits for veterans," when he actually voted repeatedly to increase them.
An RNC ad claims Obama has "no new solutions" to the energy problem, when he actually proposes $150 billion worth.
The McCain campaign falsely claims that Obama voted to raise income taxes on individuals earning "as little as $32,000 per year."
A Spanish-language McCain radio ad gets nearly all its facts wrong.
Republicans claim Obama "voted 94 times for higher taxes." But their count is inflated and misleading.
His new ad says he "worked his way" through college and law school. His campaign says he had two summer jobs.
McCain's new Web ad misrepresents some of the Democrat's positions on energy.
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