Obama's Facts Don't Add Up

OK, so Barack Obama has aired his 30 minute infomercial on all the networks that was viewed by millions. Will it work? We don't know the impact just yet, but the amount of money spent on this was staggering and one has to ask why any candidate would waste this kind of money, but that's not the purpose of this blog today. The AP (Associated Press) has done a fact check one what Obama's ad said, and let's just say that the facts do not add up. I could write my opinion on it, but I won't for now. Below is a copy and paste of the AB article which basically says that Obama speaks with a forked tongue.

AP FACT CHECK: Obama Ad Avoids Budget Realities

The Associated Press takes a look at the details in Obama's prime-time ad

WASHINGTON -- Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama was less than upfront in his half-hour commercial Wednesday night about the costs of his programs and the crushing budget pressures he would face in office.

Obama's assertion that "I've offered spending cuts above and beyond" the expense of his promises is accepted only by his partisans. His vow to save money by "eliminating programs that don't work" masks his failure throughout the campaign to specify what those programs are -- beyond the withdrawal of troops from Iraq.

A sampling of what voters heard in the ad, and what he didn't tell them:

THE SPIN: "That's why my health care plan includes improving information technology, requires coverage for preventive care and pre-existing conditions and lowers health care costs for the typical family by $2,500 a year."

THE FACTS: His plan does not lower premiums by $2,500, or any set amount. Obama hopes that by spending $50 billion over five years on electronic medical records and by improving access to proven disease management programs, among other steps, consumers will end up saving money. He uses an optimistic analysis to suggest cost reductions in national health care spending could amount to the equivalent of $2,500 for a family of four. Many economists are skeptical those savings can be achieved, but even if they are, it's not a certainty that every dollar would be passed on to consumers in the form of lower premiums.

THE SPIN: "I also believe every American has a right to affordable health care."

THE FACTS: That belief should not be confused with a guarantee of health coverage for all. He makes no such promise. Obama hinted as much in the ad when he said about the problem of the uninsured: "I want to start doing something about it." He would mandate coverage for children but not adults. His program is aimed at making insurance more affordable by offering the choice of government-subsidized coverage similar to that in a plan for federal employees and other steps, including requiring larger employers to share costs of insuring workers.

THE SPIN: "I've offered spending cuts above and beyond their cost."

THE FACTS: Independent analysts say both Obama and Republican John McCain would deepen the deficit. The nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates Obama's policy proposals would add a net $428 billion to the deficit over four years -- and that analysis accepts the savings he claims from spending cuts. The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, whose other findings have been quoted approvingly by the Obama campaign, says: "Both John McCain and Barack Obama have proposed tax plans that would substantially increase the national debt over the next 10 years." The analysis goes on to say: "Neither candidate's plan would significantly increase economic growth unless offset by spending cuts or tax increases that the campaigns have not specified."

THE SPIN: "Here's what I'll do. Cut taxes for every working family making less than $200,000 a year. Give businesses a tax credit for every new employee that they hire right here in the U.S. over the next two years and eliminate tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas. Help homeowners who are making a good faith effort to pay their mortgages, by freezing foreclosures for 90 days. And just like after 9-11, we'll provide low-cost loans to help small businesses pay their workers and keep their doors open. "

THE FACTS: His proposals -- the tax cuts, the low-cost loans, the $15 billion a year he promises for alternative energy, and more -- cost money, and the country could be facing a record $1 trillion deficit next year. Indeed, Obama recently acknowledged -- although not in his commercial -- that: "The next president will have to scale back his agenda and some of his proposals."

There you have it folks. Not some "right wing" group with an agenda, but the AP simply checking the facts... and the facts don't add up.
PLEASE people, stop listening to the flowering speech and getting sucked in by the Hollywood style campaign. The fact is that Obama cannot deliver what he has promised. Look at the facts for yourself concerning his associations with radical extremists and terrorists. This man is dangerous not only for our nation, but to you! Americans are being lulled in by Obama's oratory skills, his youth, and yes, even the color of his skin. Folks get beyond all this superficial stuff and look at the heart of the matter before you cast your vote next Tuesday. It is not about young vs old, or black vs white. It is about which candidate is best for America, and while I am not sold on everything McCain has to say, when I compare these two candidates, the choice is clear. Obama's agenda will take America deeper in debt, destroy our liberties and hand America's sovereignty over to the United Nations. His plans are overtly Marxist, and will punish people for being successful and will reward those who are slothful. Obama is bad for America, plain and simple. I truly wish we had another candidate who stood a chance... but we don't, and given the choice, I encourage people to vote for John McCain, if for no other reason than to vote against Barack Obama's radical regime.