Response to Clinton Attack Ad

RHETORIC: "Barack Obama still won't agree to debate in Wisconsin. Now he's hiding behind false attack ads. Maybe he doesn't want to explain why his health care plan leaves out 15 million people, and Hillary's covers everyone."

REALITY: Obama Will Sign Universal Health Care Plan as President, And His Plan May Cover More People Than Hillary's Does

Obama Said He Will Sign Universal Health Care By The End Of His First Term. In a speech, Obama said, "When I am president, I will sign a universal health care law by the end of my first term. My plan will cover the uninsured by letting people buy into the same kind of health care plan that members of Congress give themselves. It will bring down costs by investing in information technology, and preventative care, and by stopping the drug companies from price-gouging when patients need their medicine. It will help business and families shoulder the burden of catastrophic care so that an illness doesn't lead to a bankruptcy. And it will save the average family a thousand dollars a year on their premiums. We can do this." [Obama Speech, 5/2/07]

Reich: Obama's Health Care Plan Would Cover "More People" Than Hillary's. "I've compared the two plans in detail. Both of them are big advances over what we have now. But in my view Obama's would insure more people, not fewer, than HRC's. That's because Obama's puts more money up front and contains sufficient subsidies to insure everyone who's likely to need help – including all children and young adults up to 25 years old…In short: They're both advances, but O's is the better of the two. HRC has no grounds for alleging that O's would leave out 15 million people." [Robert Reich, 12/3/07]

REALITY: 15 Million Is A "Dubious Statistic" To Use When Discussing Obama's Plan

"Clinton Uses A Dubious Statistic When She Claims Obama's Plan Would Leave Out 15 Million Of The Uninsured." FactCheck.org reported, "Clinton uses a dubious statistic when she claims Obama's plan would leave out 15 million of the uninsured…Clinton based her claim on a column by The New Republic's Jonathan Cohn, who loosely estimated Obama's plan would leave 15 million uninsured…Cohn makes it clear here that he is offering an estimate based on the best information available, not a hard and fast calculation. And the best available information doesn't always agree." [FactCheck.org, 11/16/07]

Clinton's Claim "Based On Too Many Hypotheticals To Rate More Than A Half True." "It's a tough call, but because of the disagreements here, we find her claim to be based on too many hypotheticals to rate more than a Half True." [Politifact, 11/15/07]

Clinton Cited "Hardly An Authoritative Source" For The 15 Million Claim. "So where did Clinton get her figure of 15 million uninsured under the Obama plan? Her website cites an article in the New Republic, hardly an authoritative source." [Washington Post, 11/15/07]

RHETORIC: "Or why he voted to pass billions in Bush giveaways to the oil companies, but Hillary didn't."

REALITY: Outside Arbiters Have Repeatedly Pointed Out: Oil Bill Increase Taxes On Oil Industry, Included Numerous Obama Efforts to Increase Renewable Fuels

Fact Check: "We've Called Clinton On This Once Before... The Highly Publicized Energy Bill The President Signed In 2005 Raised Taxes Slightly On The Oil Industry As A Whole." Fact Check: "We've called Clinton on this once before. It's true that the Energy Policy Act of 2005 contained $14.3 billion in tax breaks, but most of those breaks were for electric utilities, nuclear power plants, alternative fuels research and subsidies for energy efficient cars and homes." Actually, the highly publicized energy bill the president signed in 2005 raised taxes slightly on the oil industry as a whole, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service [FactCheck.org, 1/6/08; FactCheck.org, 7/25/07]

AP Fact Check: "Clinton Is On Shakier Ground" For Attack Obama On The 2005 Energy Bill Since The Congressional Research Service Showed That The Bill Actually Raised Taxes On The Oil And Gas Industry. The AP reported, "Clinton is on shakier ground when attacking Obama for supporting "Dick Cheney's energy bill," and not just because it's a stretch to assign the vice president name - red meat to Democrats - to the legislation. The 2005 act that she describes as packed with billions of dollars in oil industry breaks actually raised taxes on the oil and gas industry by about $300 million over 11 years, according to the Congressional Research Service. The nonpartisan analysis found $2.6 billion in tax cuts for the oil and gas industry and $2.9 billion in tax increases. The bulk of tax breaks went to other sources of energy, including alternative fuels favored by both Clinton and Obama." [AP, 2/15/08]

Obama Worked Consistently to Improve Energy Bill, Which Took Important Step Towards Energy Independence. When Obama first voted for the bill, he said that he voted for the bill reluctantly and that he was disappointed with the missed opportunity to do something bolder to move the country towards energy independence by recognizing the importance of a fuel alternative. Obama played a leadership role in promoting seven amendments that strengthened the 2005 bill when it was on the floor and did not stop fighting to strengthen the bill after it was passed, introducing legislation in 2007 to end some of the most egregious tax breaks for the oil industry that were part of the 2005 bill. [HR 6, Vote 139, 6/15/06; SA 851 to HR 6, Passed by UC, 6/23/05; HR 6, Vote 141, 6/16/05; HR 6, Vote 145, 6/21/05; SA 919 to HR 6, Passed by UC, 6/23/05; 110th, S. 115, Referred to Finance, 1/4/07; S. 133, Introduced 1/4/07; S. 767, Passed Commerce Committee, 5/8/07]

2005-2007: Obama Introduced Legislation Repealing Tax Breaks And Other Perks For the Oil Industry, Requiring Yearly Increases In CAFE Standards, And Requiring Significant Increases In Renewable Fuel Mandates And Alternative Energy Incentives. Since 2005, Obama has introduced legislation suspending the 2005 energy bill's tax incentives and other perks for the oil industry in the Energy Policy Act of 2005, requiring significant increases in the renewable fuel mandates over the next few years, requiring yearly increases in CAFÉ standards, and providing incentives for E-85 fuel pump installation, alternative vehicle research and production. [S. 115, 110th Congress; S. 23, 110th Congress; S. 133, Introduced 1/4/07; S. 2202, Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. 10/18/2007 S. 2984, 109th Congress; S. 1324, Introduced 5/7/07; Press Release, 5/7/07]

RHETORIC: "Or why he said he might raise the retirement age and cut benefits for Social Security."

REALITY: Obama Has Said Repeatedly That He Does Not Want to Cut Benefits or Raise the Retirement Age

Obama: "I Do Not Want to Cut Benefits or Raise The Retirement Age." Obama wrote, "I do not want to cut benefits or raise the retirement age. I believe there are a number of ways we can make Social Security solvent that do not involve placing these added burdens on our seniors." [Quad City Times, 9/21/07]

Obama Said That He Wouldn't Support Any Social Security Fix That Forced "Seniors To Bear A Heavier Burden." "Obama said he would strengthen Social Security by opposing any effort to create private accounts, raise the retirement age and cut benefits. He said the 'best option' is to ask America's wealthiest workers to pay their fair share and force Congress to stop irresponsibly borrowing from the Social Security trust fund. 'There are a number of ways we can make Social Security solvent that do not involve forcing seniors to bear a heavier burden,' Obama said. 'The best option, in my view, is to ask the highest income Americans to contribute a little more by raising the ceiling that's currently put on the amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax.'" [Chicago Weekend, 10/31/07]

Obama: "I Won't Cut Benefits --It Isn't Appropriate To Raise The Retirement Age." Obama said, "We have a long term problem with social security- we will have 78 million baby boomers retiring- the only way to close the gap is to bring in more money- I wont cut benefits- it isn't appropriate to raise the retirement age." [KFOG, 11/12/07]

Obama: "We Should Protect Benefits. I Don't Think The Best Way To Approach This Is To Raise The Retirement Age." Obama said, "So I've been very specific about saying that we should not privatize, we should protect benefits. I don't think the best way to approach this is to raise the retirement age. But what we can do is adjust the cap on the payroll tax. Right now, anybody who's making $97,000 or less, you pay payroll tax on 100 percent of your income. Warren Buffett, who made $46 million last year, pays on a fraction of one percent of his income." [Debate, 11/16/07]