Fact Check Tuesday: Romney Vs. Obama – Round Three
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - It's Fact Check Tuesday, when we put the Presidential campaigns under the scrutiny of factcheck.org, a nonpartisan non-profit part of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
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Of course, we generally do this segment on Fridays, but the final debate between President Barack Obama and challenger Mitt Romney was last night in Boca Raton, Florida.
Both men got things wrong, so Brooks Jackson of factcheck.org went over the claims and set the record straight.
"Gov. Romney, I'm glad that you recognize that al Qaeda's a threat because, a few months ago, when you were asked 'What's the biggest geopolitical threat facing America?' you said 'Russia,'" Mr. Obama said.
"Russia, I indicated, is a geopolitical foe," Romney said, and then Obama tried to interrupt.
"Excuse me," Romney continued. "It's a geopolitical foe and I said in the same paragraph, I said 'and Iran is the greatest national security threat we face.'"
Who's right on this one?
"Well, Romney's right. He actually said that Russia was the biggest 'geopolitical foe,' which is a different idea. He said that the 'biggest threat' facing the world is a nuclear-armed Iran," Jackson told WCBS 880's Wayne Cabot.
Romney and Obama also squabbled about the size of America's military.
"Our navy is smaller now than any time since 1917," Romney said.
"Not quite true," said Jackson. "It's actually a bit larger than at the low point, which occurred under George W. Bush."
It was supposed to be a foreign policy debate, but Detroit came up once again.
"You would not provide government assistance to the U.S. auto companies, even if they went through bankruptcy. You said that they could get it in the private marketplace. That wasn't true," Obama said.
Romney interrupted, saying, "You're wrong Mr. President."
"No, I am not wrong," replied Obama.
"People can look it up," said Romney.
"People will look it up," said Obama.
"Well, this time, if you go to the record and you read the op-ed piece that Romney wrote in the New York Times, which had the headline 'Let Detroit Go Bankrupt' what he actually was proposing was a managed bankruptcy just like the President eventually implemented followed by government loan guarantees and government backing for car warranties. That's government help," said Jackson.
Romney also claimed credit for top scores by Massachusetts grade schoolers when he was governor.
"That was what allowed us to become the number one state in the nation," Romney said.
"But that was ten years before you took office," said Obama.
"What's credited, and the President was right on this, is a 1993 law that was passed a decade before Romney took office as governor," Jackson said.
Be sure to check back next week when we again will let you know who has been telling the truth and who has been doing something other than that.
