State of the Union fact check: A look at Obama's claims

[steven]

Obama: “In 2011, Congress passed a law saying that if both parties couldn’t agree on a plan to reach our deficit goal, about a trillion dollars’ worth of budget cuts would automatically go into effect this year….Now, some in this Congress have proposed preventing only the defense cuts by making even bigger cuts to things like education and job training; Medicare and Social Security benefits. That idea is even worse.”

Obama neglected to mentioned a few key things about the sequester. First, he signed the Budget Control Act, which contained the automatic cuts. And according to Bob Woodward’s book, “The Price of Politics,” the idea came from then-Budget Director Jack Lew.

Obama: “My administration has worked tirelessly to forge a durable legal and policy framework to guide our counterterrorism operations. Throughout, we have kept Congress fully informed of our efforts. I recognize that in our democracy, no one should just take my word that we’re doing things the right way.”

Obama suggested his policies on the use of armed drones to kill American terror suspects abroad have been an open book — at least to Congress. But for two years his administration refused to comply with requests from lawmakers for access to legal opinions justifying the policy.

Obama: “Already, we have brought home 33,000 of our brave servicemen and women. …Tonight, I can announce that over the next year, another 34,000 American troops will come home from Afghanistan. This drawdown will continue. And by the end of next year, our war in Afghanistan will be over. “

Judging by this speech alone, it sounded like Obama has presided over a successful and steady withdrawal of American troops in Afghanistan. One key fact was missing: he’s also the one responsible for sending over the troops he’s pulling out.

When Obama took office, there were about 33,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan. He allowed planned increases to continue, bringing the number of troops up to about 68,000 by the end of 2009. Then Obama went even further, authorizing a surge of another 33,000 troops in 2010.

Obama roughly tripled troop levels from those President George W. Bush had in place. And even with the drawdown plan he announced Tuesday, Obama plans to have more U.S. troops in Afghanistan through the next year than when he took office.

“After years of grueling recession, our businesses have created over six million new jobs.”

The president is cherry-picking a number that puts the improvement in the economy in the best possible light. The low point in jobs was reached in February 2010, and there has indeed been a gain of about 6 million jobs since then, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. But the data also show that since the start of his presidency, about 1.2 million jobs have been created—and the number of jobs in the economy is about 3.2 million lower than when the recession began in December,2007.

“We buy … less foreign oil than we have in twenty [years].”

This claim lacks context. The Energy Department has cited a host of reasons why foreign oil imports have declined, noting the main reason was “a significant contraction in consumption” because of the poor economy and changes in efficiency that began “two years before the 2008 crisis” — in other words, before Obama took office.

“we have doubled the distance our cars will go on a gallon of gas”

— which isn’t remotely close to being true right now.

In fact, according to the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute, the average EPA city/highway sticker mileage of light duty vehicles sold last month was 24.5 miles per gallon. That’s quite good — a record, in fact. And it’s 17 percent better than the 21.0 mpg for vehicles sold four years earlier, in the month Obama took office. That’s an impressive gain, but it’s a far cry from having “doubled the distance our cars will go on a gallon of gas.”

[4248]

President was less than factual - the speech writers from Alice and Wonderland really missed the mark:

The president spins his accomplishments on jobs, health care and deficit reduction in annual address.


President Obama put a rosy spin on several accomplishments of his administration in his 2013 State of the Union address.

The president claimed that "both parties have worked together to reduce the deficit by more than $2.5 trillion." But that's only an estimate of deficit reduction through fiscal year 2022, and it would be lower if the White House used a different starting point.

Obama touted the growth of 500,000 manufacturing jobs over the past three years, but there has been a net loss of 600,000 manufacturing jobs since he took office. The recent growth also has stalled since July 2012.

He claimed that "we have doubled the distance our cars will go on a gallon of gas." Actual mileage is improving, but Obama's "doubled" claim refers to a desired miles-per-gallon average for model year 2025.

Obama said the Affordable Care Act "is helping to slow the growth of health care costs." It may be helping, but the slower growth for health care spending began in 2009, before the law was enacted, and is due at least partly to the down economy.

The president also made an exaggerated claim of bipartisanship. He said that Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney agreed with him that the minimum wage should be tied to the cost of living. But Romney backed off that view during the campaign.

To read the full article click this headline: "Fact-checking Obama's State of the Union"
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Below is a list of sources that help explain why he was pandering to his supporters and blowing smoke at the rest of America.
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Sources:

White House. "News Conference by the President." Transcript. 14 Jan 2013.

Budget Control Act of 2011. Pub. L. 112-25. 2 Aug 2011.

American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012. Pub.L. 112–240. 2 Jan 2013.

Press release. "Murray's Deficit Reduction Goal Flawed and Dangerous." Minority staff of the Senate Budget Committee. 1 Feb 2013.

"Our Debt Problems Are Far from Solved." Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. 11 Feb 2013.

Jackson, Brooks. "Reid Twice Wrong on $2.6 Trillion in ‘Cuts.‘ " FactCheck.org. 6 Feb 2013.

Congressional Budget Office. "Budget Projections — February 2013 Baseline Projections." 5 Feb 2013.

Press release. "For Future Deficit Reduction, Policy Choices More Important Than Amount." Concord Coalition. 18 Jan 2013.

Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Establishment Data. Table B-1. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry sector and selected industry detail." Undated, access 12 Feb 2013.

Press release. "NAM Launches Growth Agenda for Manufacturing Resurgence." National Association of Manufacturers. 12 Feb 2013.

Jamieson, Dave. "Mitt Romney: Minimum Wage Should Rise With Inflation." Huffington Post. 11 Jan 2012.

2012 Republican Candidates. Romney Position on the Minimum Wage. Video: The Kudlow Report on March 5, 2012.

University of Michigan, Transportation Research Institute. " Average sales-weighted fuel-economy rating (window sticker) of purchased new vehicles for October 2007 through January 2013." 4 Feb 2013.

U.S. Environmental Protection Administration. "President Obama Announces Historic 54.5 mpg Fuel Efficiency Standard/Consumers will save $1.7 trillion at the pump, $8K per vehicle by 2025." 29 Jul 2011.

Office of the Actuary, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. National Health Expenditures Account. NHE Tables. Accessed 13 Feb 2013.

Lowrey, Annie. "Slower Growth of Health Costs Eases U.S. Deficit." New York Times. 11 Feb 2013.

Goldstein, Amy. "U.S. health-care expenditures up only 4 percent in 2009, suggesting effects of recession." Washington Post. 5 Jan 2011.

U.S. Energy Information Administration. Electric Power Monthly. Table 1.1.A. Net Generation by Other Renewable Sources: Total (All Sectors), 2002-November 2012. 23 Jan 2013.

U.S. Energy Information Administration. "What are the major sources and users of energy in the United States?" 18 May 2012.

FactCheck.org is a nonpartisan, nonprofit "consumer advocate" for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics.

[Mr. Lackawanna]

Obama loves to spin the facts. This shows that he has difficulty telling the truth.

[HipKat]

I was gonna do this, too, but i figured 1, everyone should already know he'd be twisting the facts and 2, does anyone really care any more?

[OutsidetheBox]

I've corrected your quote for you.

Politicians loves to spin the facts. This shows that they have difficulty telling the truth.

[LuvinBuffalo]

Obama was appealing to the low-information voter. Those that helped him achieve his second term.

[Mr. Lackawanna]

I've corrected your quote for you.

I was referring to Obama. He has difficulty telling the truth.

[HipKat]

I was referring to Obama. He has difficulty telling the truth.

Does it hurt to be blind?

[WNYresident]

Does it hurt to be blind?

From experience only when you walk into things by accident. Close one eye for an entire day and see what it is like.

[HipKat]

http://www.politifact.com/personalities/marco-rubio/

Marco Rubio:

"I still live in the same working-class neighborhood I grew up in."
That house is for sale, actually

"Military spending cuts, known as the sequester, were President Barack Obama’s idea."
Obama opposes the cuts

"Washington, D.C., had some of the strictest gun laws in the country. And when they passed them, violence skyrocketed."
Violence rose and fell, rose and fell

"The health care law "adds around $800 billion of taxes on the American people. It does not discriminate between rich and poor."
It's a VERY different treatment for rich and poor

"Democrats plan to keep student loan interest rates low "by raising taxes on small businesses, very small businesses … the kinds of small businesses that give jobs to graduates."
Dems plan closes loopholes on high-paid professionals

"Says a U.S. Supreme Court justice suggested that some U.S. cases will be decided based on South African law."
Completely false

"Says his parents "came to America following Fidel Castro's takeover" of Cuba."
Dates don't match up