Washington:
In the rough-and-tumble of a town hall-style debate, not all of the Presidential candidates' claims stood up to scrutiny Tuesday night.
Yet again, President Barack Obama claimed that ending the Afghanistan and Iraq wars makes money available to "rebuild America," even though it doesn't. And he pointed to a string of job creation while ignoring the job losses that came before it, on his watch.
Republican Mitt Romney actually corrected some of the errant claims he's made before, while stretching the facts on the auto bailout he opposed.
A look at some of their claims:
Barack Obama: "Let's take the money that we've been spending on war over the last decade to rebuild America, roads, bridges, schools. We do those things, not only is your future going to be bright, but America's future is going to be bright as well."
The facts: What Mr Obama didn't mention is that much of the money that has been paying for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan was borrowed. In fact, the government borrows nearly 40 cents for every dollar it spends. Thus using money that had been earmarked for wars to build schools and infrastructure would involve even more borrowing, adding to the federal deficit.
Mr Romney: "I know he keeps saying, 'You want to take Detroit bankrupt.' Well, the President took Detroit bankrupt. You took General Motors bankrupt. You took Chrysler bankrupt. So when you say that I wanted to take the auto industry bankrupt, you actually did. And I think it's important to know that that was a process that was necessary to get those companies back on their feet, so they could start hiring more people. That was precisely what I recommended and ultimately what happened."
The facts: That's not precisely what he recommended. The restructuring unfolded with a huge government bailout, a critical difference from Mr Romney's recommended path. He wanted private financing to rescue the automakers in bankruptcy. Few think the private sector, raked then by the financial crisis, would have nursed Detroit back to health without a massive infusion of federal aid. In late 2008, banks weren't making many loans, much less to companies that were out of cash.
Mr Romney: America has "23 million people struggling to find a job."
The facts: With that remark, Mr Romney properly stated the number of people who are out of work, who want to work but gave up looking, or who are working part time when they want to have full-time jobs. At times, he's erred in saying there are 23 million unemployed.
Yet again, President Barack Obama claimed that ending the Afghanistan and Iraq wars makes money available to "rebuild America," even though it doesn't. And he pointed to a string of job creation while ignoring the job losses that came before it, on his watch.
Republican Mitt Romney actually corrected some of the errant claims he's made before, while stretching the facts on the auto bailout he opposed.
A look at some of their claims:
Barack Obama: "Let's take the money that we've been spending on war over the last decade to rebuild America, roads, bridges, schools. We do those things, not only is your future going to be bright, but America's future is going to be bright as well."
The facts: What Mr Obama didn't mention is that much of the money that has been paying for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan was borrowed. In fact, the government borrows nearly 40 cents for every dollar it spends. Thus using money that had been earmarked for wars to build schools and infrastructure would involve even more borrowing, adding to the federal deficit.
Mr Romney: "I know he keeps saying, 'You want to take Detroit bankrupt.' Well, the President took Detroit bankrupt. You took General Motors bankrupt. You took Chrysler bankrupt. So when you say that I wanted to take the auto industry bankrupt, you actually did. And I think it's important to know that that was a process that was necessary to get those companies back on their feet, so they could start hiring more people. That was precisely what I recommended and ultimately what happened."
The facts: That's not precisely what he recommended. The restructuring unfolded with a huge government bailout, a critical difference from Mr Romney's recommended path. He wanted private financing to rescue the automakers in bankruptcy. Few think the private sector, raked then by the financial crisis, would have nursed Detroit back to health without a massive infusion of federal aid. In late 2008, banks weren't making many loans, much less to companies that were out of cash.
Mr Romney: America has "23 million people struggling to find a job."
The facts: With that remark, Mr Romney properly stated the number of people who are out of work, who want to work but gave up looking, or who are working part time when they want to have full-time jobs. At times, he's erred in saying there are 23 million unemployed.
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