The Forum Site - Join the conversation
Forums:
Politics

Fact-Checking Obama's Speech

Reply to Topic
AuthorMessage
Pages: 1 2 · >>
iwannano On May 19, 2010
Mountain William


Deleted



,
#1New Post! Mar 05, 2009 @ 09:29:14
Does it seem that the people writing president Obama speeches are just clueless? Maybe someone should suggest they learn how to google before they type up his speeches.


Fact-Checking Obama's Speech
February 25, 2009
The president gets facts wrong about oil imports, mortgage aid and the transcontinental railroad, and more.
Summary
President Obama's first speech to a joint session of Congress was stuffed with signals about the new direction his budget will take and meant-to-be reassuring words about the economy. But it was also peppered with exaggerations and factual misstatements.

He said "we import more oil today than ever before." That's untrue. Imports peaked in 2005 and are substantially lower today.


He claimed his mortgage aid plan would help "responsible" buyers but not those who borrowed beyond their means. But even prominent defenders of the program including Fed Chairman Bernanke and FDIC chief Bair concede foolish borrowers will be aided, too.


He said the high cost of health care "causes a bankruptcy in America every 30 seconds." That's at least double the true figure.


He flubbed two facts about American history. The U.S. did not invent the automobile, and the transcontinental railroad was not completed until years after the Civil War, not during it.


He claimed that his stimulus plan "prevented the layoffs" of 57 police officers in Minneapolis. In fact, it's far more complicated than that, and other factors are also helping to save police jobs.

https://www.factcheck.org/politics/fact-checking_obamas_speech.html
SimplyxComplicated On June 28, 2023




Fort Worth, Texas
#2New Post! Mar 05, 2009 @ 09:35:35
Would that be the same speech I was very vaguely listening to/talking about here? https://www.theforumsite.com/forum/topic/So-My-Grandma-is-watching-Obama-s-speech-right-now-/291408


I have no idea.. the date was the 24th.. did he do two speeches in a row?


Either way, Ive noticed a lot of what he says is just... Wow.
iwannano On May 19, 2010
Mountain William


Deleted



,
#3New Post! Mar 05, 2009 @ 09:44:31
@SimplyxComplicated Said

Would that be the same speech I was very vaguely listening to/talking about here? https://www.theforumsite.com/forum/topic/So-My-Grandma-is-watching-Obama-s-speech-right-now-/291408


I have no idea.. the date was the 24th.. did he do two speeches in a row?


Either way, Ive noticed a lot of what he says is just... Wow.



It probally is ,this is the speech "President Obama's first speech to a joint session of Congress "
SimplyxComplicated On June 28, 2023




Fort Worth, Texas
#4New Post! Mar 05, 2009 @ 09:45:53
Ah, then yeah, it is the same speech.
I wasnt giving it 100% of my attention, since I was on here at the time, but from what I could tell, I wasnt liking it.
iwannano On May 19, 2010
Mountain William


Deleted



,
#5New Post! Mar 05, 2009 @ 09:48:08
@SimplyxComplicated Said

Ah, then yeah, it is the same speech.
I wasnt giving it 100% of my attention, since I was on here at the time, but from what I could tell, I wasnt liking it.



Did you follow the link in my OP? There is a very long page/list on all the mistaken 'facts' in that speech.
El_Tino On October 12, 2023
booyaka!





Albuquerque, New Mexico
#6New Post! Mar 05, 2009 @ 09:48:28
So he got a few points wrong... what's your point?
SimplyxComplicated On June 28, 2023




Fort Worth, Texas
#7New Post! Mar 05, 2009 @ 09:49:10
@iwannano Said

Did you follow the link in my OP? There is a very long page/list on all the mistaken 'facts' in that speech.



Yeah, I did.
I also already knew about a lot of them when he was giving the speech.
iwannano On May 19, 2010
Mountain William


Deleted



,
#8New Post! Mar 05, 2009 @ 10:02:39
@eL_TinO Said

So he got a few points wrong... what's your point?



My point is that maybe the people writing his speeches need to 'check ' their facts before letting him go public with his speeches. Maybe the writers of his speeches should post on TFS just to get a feel for checking facts and researching info before posting.
El_Tino On October 12, 2023
booyaka!





Albuquerque, New Mexico
#9New Post! Mar 05, 2009 @ 10:09:33
@iwannano Said

My point is that maybe the people writing his speeches need to 'check ' their facts before letting him go public with his speeches. Maybe the writers of his speeches should post on TFS just to get a feel for checking facts and researching info before posting.


Come on, all politicians make errors in their speeches, when they're minor like this who really gives a rat's ass? Now, on the other hand if someone goes to war because of the inaccuracies then that's a problem.

But I guess if you want to quibble about every little inaccuracy, then peruse factcheck.org a little closer and see what kind of ridiculous lies people, mostly on the right, make up.
iwannano On May 19, 2010
Mountain William


Deleted



,
#10New Post! Mar 05, 2009 @ 10:50:12
@eL_TinO Said

Come on, all politicians make errors in their speeches, when they're minor like this who really gives a rat's ass? Now, on the other hand if someone goes to war because of the inaccuracies then that's a problem.

But I guess if you want to quibble about every little inaccuracy, then peruse factcheck.org a little closer and see what kind of ridiculous lies people, mostly on the right, make up.



This isn't about just any politician he , and these aren't ridiculous lies people on one side or the other are making up. This is about a speech the president made to a joint session of Congress on his budget and the economy. If he won't pay attention and get the facts right in as you call it "minor" errors what would lead the American people to hope he will pay attention to any facts in anything he says?

And what is so minor about his misleading statements like,,
' when he says "Obama: We have known for decades that our survival depends on finding new sources of energy, yet we import more oil today than ever before." when the fact is "
" We?re importing less than we were just a few years ago."
or
"Obama: And for that same reason, we must also address the crushing cost of health care. This is a cost that now causes a bankruptcy in America every 30 seconds." when "That's at least double the true figure"
or
"Obama continued his recent habit of asserting projections as fact."
or
"
Obama said that "there are 57 police officers who are still on the streets of Minneapolis tonight because this plan prevented the layoffs their department was about to make." But that's a dubious claim.

It's true that Mayor R.T. Rybak (an early Obama supporter) said Feb. 23 that cuts in state aid "would have led to the elimination of 57 sworn police officer positions and 19 non sworn employees" and that the stimulus bill "will keep 57 police officers working on the streets of Minneapolis." But there's more to it than that.

For one thing, the mayor's 57-cop figure is hypothetical. No layoffs were actually proposed. "


Even the 'historical facts" that he is in error on should be taken as his lack of attention to detail.
El_Tino On October 12, 2023
booyaka!





Albuquerque, New Mexico
#11New Post! Mar 05, 2009 @ 11:00:14
@iwannano Said

And what is so minor about his misleading statements like,,
' when he says "Obama: We have known for decades that our survival depends on finding new sources of energy, yet we import more oil today than ever before." when the fact is "
" We?re importing less than we were just a few years ago."


Maybe he meant "now" in a general sense rather than a specific sense. And in any case, the point is that we are importing a ton of foreign oil. I don't see the big deal. Now if we were at a low, or the "high" had been like 10 years ago or something it would be a bigger deal.

Quote:
"Obama: And for that same reason, we must also address the crushing cost of health care. This is a cost that now causes a bankruptcy in America every 30 seconds." when "That's at least double the true figure"


Ok, so every 60 seconds. That's still a lot, who cares about the specifics? The point of his speach isn't to recite a bunch of facts but to make points.


Quote:
"
Obama said that "there are 57 police officers who are still on the streets of Minneapolis tonight because this plan prevented the layoffs their department was about to make." But that's a dubious claim.

It's true that Mayor R.T. Rybak (an early Obama supporter) said Feb. 23 that cuts in state aid "would have led to the elimination of 57 sworn police officer positions and 19 non sworn employees" and that the stimulus bill "will keep 57 police officers working on the streets of Minneapolis." But there's more to it than that.

For one thing, the mayor's 57-cop figure is hypothetical. No layoffs were actually proposed. "


Again, maybe another example would have been better.. but really in this case do the specifics matter? What difference does it make? Suppose the stimulus doesn't help any cops in Minneapolis? The point is it might help them and it will help some somewhere.


Quote:
Even the 'historical facts" that he is in error on should be taken as his lack of attention to detail.


Or an overly pedantic public. It's not the details that matter, it's the details that matter that matter. I'm far more concerned that he gets the details right when the details matter. Does it matter whether his speech says the bankruptcy rate is one every 30 or 60 seconds? No. Does it really matter where the car was technically invented? No.
crankshaft On May 10, 2009

Banned



,
#12New Post! Mar 05, 2009 @ 11:07:45
All I know is his most used words, "change, hope", changed to "crisis, tax".
iwannano On May 19, 2010
Mountain William


Deleted



,
#13New Post! Mar 05, 2009 @ 11:13:04
How are the American people suppose to know when "he gets the details right when the details matter." If we become so use to him not bothering with details.
El_Tino On October 12, 2023
booyaka!





Albuquerque, New Mexico
#14New Post! Mar 05, 2009 @ 11:19:56
@iwannano Said

How are the American people suppose to know when "he gets the details right when the details matter." If we become so use to him not bothering with details.


By paying attention to the details that matter instead of those that don't
Selene_Dendawga On August 13, 2009




Rocklin, California
#15New Post! Mar 05, 2009 @ 11:26:06
You're nitpicking a speech. That's really pointless because you're not checking the facts, you're checking a fact site. What happens if they're getting the information wrong?

Anyways, these speeches are the same thing he's been saying for months. Why not wait for the plan to start and if things get worse over the next four years or better before shaking a finger at him?
Reply to Topic<< Previous Topic | Next Topic >>
Pages: 1 2 · >>

1 browsing (0 members - 1 guest)

Quick Reply
Politics Forum - Some Rudeness Allowed

      
Subscribe to topic prefs

Similar Topics
    Forum Topic Last Post Replies Views
New posts   Security
Mon Jul 30, 2012 @ 04:28
1 2591
New posts   Science
Sun Mar 11, 2012 @ 19:08
11 1919
New posts   Politics
Wed Oct 25, 2017 @ 18:43
26 3799
New posts   Politics
Wed Jul 29, 2009 @ 06:43
21 3551
New posts   US Elections
Fri Jul 24, 2020 @ 23:24
77 25051