During a meeting with the San Francisco Chronicle's editorial board on Aug. 31, 2010, Sen. Barbara Boxer was asked about a controversial comment she made in 2007 to then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice about Rice not paying a "personal price" in the Iraq War because she did not have any immediate family members serving in the military. Rice and a number of political pundits later claimed Boxer's comment was an unfair jab because Rice didn't have children. In the editorial board meeting, Boxer, a California Democrat, sought to set the record straight about … >> More

The Nevada Senate race between incumbent Democrat Harry Reid and Republican challenger Sharron Angle has become one of the nation's most bitter, with Angle seeking to make Reid the poster child for the poor national and Nevada economies and Reid trying to portray Angle's staunchly conservative views as out of the mainstream. In a television ad released Aug. 23, 2010, Reid's campaign says that Angle wants to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education. The ad relies on a clip from an interview Angle did with radio station KNPR, the NPR affiliate in … >> More

Whoa, talk about a change in tune. Are Republicans now trying to take credit for parts of the health care bill? Are the Yankees rooting for the Red Sox? Are dogs and cats getting along? In an Aug. 12, 2010, op-ed for Politico headlined "GOP touts preventive care it opposed," Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., and Rosa DeLauro , D-Conn., touted the benefits of preventive and wellness care. As survivors of breast and ovarian cancer, respectively, they said that preventive care saved their lives. But if Republicans have their way, the Democrats said, … >> More

In a June 30, 2010, Facebook post, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin posted excerpts from a speech she gave in Norfolk, Va., primarily on national security. At one point, she said, \”Did you know the U.S. actually only ranks 25th worldwide on defense spending as a percentage of GDP?\”We didn\’t, so we decided to check up on her statistic.We quickly tracked down the chart from which we suspect she pulled her factoid. (Her staff didn\’t return our e-mail query.) It\’s a credible source — the CIA World Factbook — and, as Palin said, the U.S. does … >> More

In a June 30, 2010, Facebook post, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin posted excerpts from a speech she gave in Norfolk, Va., primarily on national security. At one point, she said, \”Did you know the U.S. actually only ranks 25th worldwide on defense spending as a percentage of GDP?\”We didn\’t, so we decided to check up on her statistic.We quickly tracked down the chart from which we suspect she pulled her factoid. (Her staff didn\’t return our e-mail query.) It\’s a credible source — the CIA World Factbook — and, as Palin said, the U.S. does … >> More

In a June 30, 2010, Facebook post, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin posted excerpts from a speech she gave in Norfolk, Va., primarily on national security. At one point, she said, \”Did you know the U.S. actually only ranks 25th worldwide on defense spending as a percentage of GDP?\”We didn\’t, so we decided to check up on her statistic.We quickly tracked down the chart from which we suspect she pulled her factoid. (Her staff didn\’t return our e-mail query.) It\’s a credible source — the CIA World Factbook — and, as Palin said, the U.S. does … >> More

In a June 30, 2010, Facebook post, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin posted excerpts from a speech she gave in Norfolk, Va., primarily on national security. At one point, she said, \”Did you know the U.S. actually only ranks 25th worldwide on defense spending as a percentage of GDP?\”We didn\’t, so we decided to check up on her statistic.We quickly tracked down the chart from which we suspect she pulled her factoid. (Her staff didn\’t return our e-mail query.) It\’s a credible source — the CIA World Factbook — and, as Palin said, the U.S. does … >> More

In a June 30, 2010, Facebook post, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin posted excerpts from a speech she gave in Norfolk, Va., primarily on national security. At one point, she said, \”Did you know the U.S. actually only ranks 25th worldwide on defense spending as a percentage of GDP?\”We didn\’t, so we decided to check up on her statistic.We quickly tracked down the chart from which we suspect she pulled her factoid. (Her staff didn\’t return our e-mail query.) It\’s a credible source — the CIA World Factbook — and, as Palin said, the U.S. does … >> More

President Barack Obama gave a lengthy speech on the need for immigration reform at the American University School of International Service on July 1, 2010, making a case to change the way the law handles immigrants. Obama avoided specifics in favor of several general points: Government needs to secure the borders, but it also needs to reduce red tape and backlogs for legal immigrants. Businesses need to obey laws that forbid the hiring of illegal immigrants. And illegal immigrants need to register with the government, pay taxes and fines, and learn English. Obama said government efforts … >> More

During a campaign appearance in Grand Junction, Colo., on Sept. 17, 2008, Barack Obama made light of his rival, John McCain, for suggesting that a commission study the Wall Street meltdown that had just taken place.\”John McCain\’s big solution to the crisis we\’re facing is — get ready for this — a commission,\” Obama told the crowd. \”A commission. That\’s Washington-speak for we\’ll get — we\’ll get back to you later.\”Obama continued, \”You know, folks, we don\’t need a commission to figure out what happened. We know what happened: Too many in Washington and on Wall … >> More