...I'm okay with being REALITY-based.




Thursday, October 30, 2003
      ( 10:14 AM )
 
Mama's Helpful Hints No. 82:
If It Smells Poopy, It Most Probably Is Poopy

Thanks to Maru for this link to this page at the Center for American Progress that takes apart Bush's press conference and matches his claims to actual facts - and they even source their stuff! Here are some tidbits:

On "Credibility"

CLAIM: “Credibility comes when you say something is going to happen and then it does happen…You are not credible if you issue resolutions and then nothing happens.” [Source: President Bush, 10/28/03]

FACT: Bush said about his first tax cut that “Tax relief will create new jobs” and the economy proceeded to shed almost 3 million jobs. He said about his second tax cut that “tax relief means new jobs for Americans” and the economy continued to shed jobs. He said about the war in Iraq in May that “major combat operations have ended” and yet more troops have died since that statement than during the war. [Source: President Bush, 4/16/01, 9/5/03 and 5/1/03]


On the War on Terror/Iraq

CLAIM: “The world is more peaceful and more free under my leadership.” [Source: President Bush, 10/28/03]

FACT: According to Amnesty International’s 2003 annual report “The world has become more dangerous, and governments more repressive, since the effort to fight terrorism began after the 9/11, attacks on the United States.” For the U.S. specifically, “Since March, 353 U.S. troops have been killed in Iraq, including 229 in hostile fire.” [Source: NY Times, 5/29/03 and CNN, 10/28/03]


On the Economy

CLAIM: “So I’ve proposed additional measures to keep the economy on the path to greater job creation…by making permanent the tax cuts that have helped our economy.” [Source: President Bush, 10/28/03]

FACT: Since first Bush tax cut took effect in June 2001, the U.S. economy has lost 2.75 million jobs – the unemployment rate has risen from 4.4% to 6.1%. Since the second Bush tax cut took effect in May 2003, the economy has shed 124,000 more jobs. [Source: BLS]

For more factual responses to claims made by Bush, check out MoveOn.org's Misleader effort.

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