FactCheck Sex-Ed Ad Response - Correction Still Needed

FactCheck.org has followed up on emails rebuking their article on the McCain ad ‘Education’ with a statement that says in part,

'We also never wrote that Obama said class material about 'inappropriate touching' was the main purpose of the bill. Our article said that 'Obama has also said he does not support, ‘explicit sex education to children in kindergarten’ and that Obama made it clear that at least one reason he supported the bill was that it would help teach young kids to recognize inappropriate behavior and pedophiles."

Factcheck also categorizes the ad as false because it states that it was Senator Obama’s ‘one achievement’ in education. It is true that Senator Obama did not achieve the passage of this legislation, and may be able to account for other education successes. Also, the previous article should have been more clear in stating that it was Senator Obama that stated the bill was about ‘inappropriate touching’ not FactCheck. However, there are still major problems in FactCheck’s story.

They state outright in their response. "Obama has also said he does not support, ‘explicit sex education to children in kindergarten’." The ad does not state that Senator Obama does support ‘explicit sex education to children in kindergarten’ that is solely Factcheck’s own interpretation. Yet this is repeated as proof that the ad is false as they later refute their own interpretation by saying, "But Obama has also said he does not support, 'explicit sex education to children in kindergarten." That’s fine, but it has nothing to do with the McCain ad.

Second, as they state in their rebuttal and in their original article, "Obama 'made it clear that at least one reason he supported the bill was that it would help teach young kids to recognize inappropriate behavior and pedophiles." Again, this has nothing to do with the McCain ad. Motive was never discussed in the ad and Factcheck misleads about the content of the ad by refutiating a claim not made in the ad.

Finally, Factcheck refutes the ad as having cherry picked quotes about Obama’s record. Well, welcome to politics. The statements are all verified, but FactCheck explains that those sources frequently did not have glowing reviews of McCain’s education plan either. Certainly that is fair to point out, but that does no make the ad false.

The one claim they are able to back up is the statement in the ad saying that this bill is Senator Obama’s ‘only accomplishment’ in education. They cite three ammendments to a bill that Senator Obama worked on that were aproved by unanimous consent. As Factcheck states, "Whether or not one considers any of these measures earth-shaking, they’re accomplishments nonetheless." Point taken.

I appreciate that FactCheck has responded to complaints about their article. However, I am still disappointed in the lack of actual fact checking within their article. Please read their response and email them at Editor@Factcheck.org if you agree that their article is still off base.

For clarity here are the basic complaints:

1. The statement, "Obama has also said he does not support, ‘explicit sex education to children in kindergarten’." is an interpretation by Factcheck of the McCain ad, the ad itself does not claim that Senator Obama does support ‘explicit sex education to children in kindergarten’

2. The reason Senator Obama supported this bill is irrelevant. The ad never states the reason for Senator Obama’s support, and this makes Factcheck’s article misleading.

3. Cherry picked quotes do not make an ad false. Certainly fair to point out context, but the quotes were not false, and they do not make the ad false.

4. If Factcheck wants to claim the article is false because it was not Senator Obama’s only educational accomplishment than that is a legitimate complaint. However, in that case the article needs extensive editing as that is the only argument where they have provided any real evidence.

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FactCheck Sex-Ed Ad Response - Correction Still Needed

Obama Blames Pentagon for Skipping Troop Visit

The Obama campaign still lacks a reason for not visiting wounded soldiers in Germany. They have decided to blame the Pentagon for their decision not to visit the military hospital. However, numerous sources confirm that Obama was never told that he could not visit the soldiers, just that bringing campaign staff and cameras was considered inappropriate. The Washington Post states that Obama knew about the rules.

"The senator's staff was informed of the limits on what the military can do with respect to a political campaign and how we could support a senator's visit to Landstuhl and, quite frankly, I expected them to have the visit," Whitman said.

Fox questions Robert Gibbs, a campaign spokesman, about whether they knew of these rules.

“Q: Did it not occur to anybody that this might be viewed as a political stop?

Gibbs: We had taken some of that into consideration, but we believed that it could be done in a way that would not create, it would not be created or seen as a campaign stop.”

However, the LA Times reports that Gibbs blamed the Pentagon not informing them of their restrictions until too late.

“Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs initially released a statement saying the senator had decided to cancel out of respect for the troops, because it would be inappropriate on "a trip funded by the campaign."

That statement said nothing about the Pentagon restriction. Gibbs later said it became apparent the Pentagon "would have tried to politicize this, and then others would try to politicize this."

The reasons for not visiting the troops have been universally weak. The desire not to use campagin funds to visit wounded soldiers smacks of an unbelievable level greed or cheapness. Blaming the Pentagon rings hollow since they never disallowed the trip. The only complaint that has a ring of truth to it is that the Obama campaign didn’t want to follow the rules of no cameras and limited staff. Why meet with service men and women who have sacraficed greatly for their country if Senator Obama can’t put on a show? Unfortunately, as MSNBC notes, the wounded soldiers were let down by Senator Obama’s decision to cancel,

Whatever the reason, Obama and the troops he would have visited have both missed a unique and historic opportunity. According to one Army lieutenant colonel, "Everyone was excited about Obama's visit. It's a shame."

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Obama Searches for the Reason Why He Snubbed Wounded Soldiers