PRESS RELEASE from Obama for America
Oct. 8, 2008 (1:06 a.m.)
JOHN MCCAIN’S 17 LIES TONIGHT
1.
MCCAIN PROPOSING NEW HOUSING PLAN. McCain
today said he had a new plan to allow the Treasury to purchase and
restructure mortgages. The truth is that this is not a new
proposal and is already part of the rescue plan that was signed into
law. It was Obama, not McCain who called for this move two weeks
ago.
- MCCAIN TAX PLAN IS BETTER. McCain said, “It is my
proposal not Senator Obama’s” that will “take care of working
families.” The reality is that even the Heritage Foundation agrees
Obama will provide a middle class tax cut that studies have found is
three times larger than under McCain’s plan. In contrast, the
McCain plan’s benefits would overwhelmingly go to the wealthiest
Americans and would leave out 101 million middle class households.
- MCCAIN’S PLAN FOR HOUSING CRISIS. McCain said, “We have
got to give some trust and confidence back to America” to solve the
housing crisis. But Politifact agrees that McCain was taken by surprise
by the mortgage crisis and was “a latecomer” to the debate. He even
said “I don’t claim to be smart enough” to solve the housing crisis and
newspapers have found that McCain “overstates” his past actions on
housing regulation.
- TIES TO FANNIE/FREDDIE. McCain talked about “Senator
Obama and his cronies and friends in Washington” and blamed them for
Fannie and Freddie, while news accounts have pointed out his “deeper”
ties to the companies. His campaign manager Rick Davis fought against
greater regulation for years, and then his firm was revealed to be
taking $15,000 a month until this summer from Freddie Mac, after
denying any recent ties.
- MCCAIN WILL MAKE HEALTH CARE AFFORDABLE AND AVAILABLE. McCain
said “We can do them all at once,” talking about affordability and
availability of health care, but he failed to mention that experts say
his plan may require some to pay more or get less coverage, that
millions would lose their employer-based coverage, and that even he
has admitted that his plan will raise taxes on some.
- SMALL BUSINESS TAXES. McCain said Obama’s plan “will
increase taxes on 50% of small business revenue,” when the Washington
Post found similar attacks “untrue,” and studies show 97% of small
business owners wouldn’t see higher taxes under Obama’s plan.
Factcheck.org said the attack used “a false and preposterously inflated
figure.”
- TAX CUTS FOR THE WEALTHY. McCain said “I am not in
favor of tax cuts for the wealthy.” While he once said that the Bush
tax cuts were “too tilted to the wealthy,” now he wants to make them
permanent.
- 2005 ENERGY BILL. McCain attacked Obama for his
vote for the 2005 energy bill, saying it had “billions for oil
companies.” The truth is that FactCheck.org called this “an old canard”
and a “false attack.” The non-partisan Congressional Research Service
said the bill actually raised taxes on the oil and gas industry.
- 94 VOTES FOR HIGHER TAXES…AGAIN. McCain once again
repeated the attack that Obama voted 94 times for higher taxes, calling
it “his record.” This attack has been debunked by the Associated Press,
the Cleveland Plain Dealer, CNN, the New York Times and FactCheck.org,
among others.
- OBAMA RECORD ON NUCLEAR POWER. McCain said, “Obama
is opposed to that,” when the reality is that this attack is “false”
according to FactCheck.org. Obama supports nuclear as long as it’s “clean and safe.”
- HEALTH COVERAGE FOR PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS. McCain
said his health care plan would let people cross state lines to get
plans, suggesting it would improve care and not telling Americans that
it would weaken patient protections and does nothing to require
insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions. McCain’s plan
would create a situation the GOP chair of the National Association of
Insurance Commissioners said would cause a “race to the bottom.”
- HIGHER HEALTH CARE COSTS FOR SMALL BUSINESSES. McCain
attacked Obama’s health care plan, suggesting that Obama will fine
small businesses and make health care more expensive for them. ABC
pointed out that he was “omitting key details about Obama’s plan to
mitigate costs” for health care for small businesses. McCain also
omitted his record of voting repeatedly against tax credits for small
businesses to help with health care costs and that the majority of
members of the National Federation of Independent Businesses oppose his
plan.
- JUDGMENT ON IRAQ. McCain said that he had “the
judgment” to make national security decisions, ignoring his record of
misguided statements during the course of the Iraq war. In 2005 he said
the war would be over within 18 months. In 2003 he said “we will be
welcomed as liberators,” and that “we will win it easily.”
- RUSSIA AND GEORGIA. McCain said Obama “was wrong
about Russia when they committed aggression against Georgia” when Obama
had condemned Russia’s actions and called for an immediate ceasefire.
- SURGE IN IRAQ. McCain again attacked Obama on the
surge, when news accounts show that Obama “said at the time” that the
increase “could improve security in certain neighborhoods but that it
would not solve the long-term political strife.” Meanwhile McCain said
only 10,000 troops would do the job.
- NEGOTIATIONS. McCain attacked Obama on diplomatic
engagement, but the Washington Post has said McCain is “distorting
history when he suggests that Barack Obama is bucking American
presidential tradition in expressing a willingness to meet with the
leaders of countries hostile to the United States” and that McCain is
“incorrect.”
17.
SOMALIA. McCain held up Somalia as an example
of failed American foreign policy, saying “we ended up having to
withdraw in humiliation.” McCain ignored the amendment he introduced in
1993 to cut off funding for troops in Somalia.