“Mitt Romney plans to turn himself into a one-man truth squad during the first presidential debate next week, casting President Barack Obama as someone who can’t be trusted to stick to the facts or keep his promises.”
— Politico, Sept. 27, 2012
“At the First Debate, Facts Will Matter”
— Memo by Obama campaign adviser David Axelrod, Sept. 28
There has been a campaign to arrange for independent fact-checkers to be present at the presidential debates. We’re not sure what that would accomplish. Would we be like Olympic judges, holding up signs after each exchange with a numerical score for truthiness?
But we do applaud the idea of keeping the conversation grounded in facts, with either the moderator or the candidates themselves challenging misstatements, half-truths and exaggerations that have appeared in campaign ads and speeches throughout this election season. All too often, neither man has been directly challenged about their misleading statements. So here are some questions we would like to see.
Budget
Romney to Obama: You claim to have a plan to reduce the deficit by $4 trillion over 10 years, but every nonpartisan analyst has said that figure is based on suspect accounting. In particular, you claim $800 billion in savings from ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to pay for nation-building at home, even though you have repeatedly criticized President George W. Bush for running those wars on a credit card. Aren’t you simply claiming a nonexistent peace dividend in order to keep running up the tab on the same credit card?
Obama to Romney: You claim to have a plan to greatly reduce the size of government while boosting defense spending and reversing a needed slowdown in Medicare spending, yet every nonpartisan analyst has said the numbers don’t add up unless you are willing to cut to the bone any non-security-related function of government. Since you have given few details of your cuts, I have been free to speculate they will be draconian. Here’s your chance: What will you specifically cut, and by how much, in order for your numbers to add up?
Romney to Obama: You earned Four Pinocchios last week for claiming that 90 percent of the deficit on your watch comes from policies promoted by President George W. Bush. PolitiFact and FactCheck.Org also rated that claim “false.” We all know you took office during a poor economy, but when will you take responsibility for the actions that happened on your watch? Is there any decision you regret making regarding the economy?
Obama to Romney: You have attacked me repeatedly for looming defense cuts that congressional Republicans, including your running mate, supported as part of a budget deal that was designed to spread the pain and force hard choices on the budget. Will you concede that both parties are responsible for this dilemma — and you have offered no plan to resolve it?
Taxes
Romney to Obama: You have long said you want to raise taxes on Americans making more than $250,000 a year while retaining the Bush tax cuts for people making less than that. But that’s not going to raise nearly enough money to fix our budgets woes, even with your rather vague “Buffett Rule.” Can you admit that’s the case?
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