The Washington Times has published FactCheck.org’s analysis of the things Democrats have said about John McCain. Here’s their analysis:

Some examples of who said what and what they left out:

SEN. ROBERT CASEY JR. of PENNSYLVANIA: “John McCain calls himself a maverick, but he votes with George Bush 90 percent of the time. That’s not a maverick. That’s a sidekick.”

PENNSYLVANIA GOV. ED RENDELL: “And guess who voted with President Bush 90 percent of the time? Sen. John McCain.”

THE FACTS: McCain voted with President Bush 90 percent of the time from January 20, 2001, to when Congress left Washington on its annual August recess, according to a study by Congressional Quarterly. But McCain wasn’t always a staunch Bush backer. In 2005, his support for Bush’s position on legislation reached a low of 77 percent; last year, when he launched his latest bid for the GOP presidential nomination, he voted with Bush 95 percent of the time.

IOWA GOV. CHET CULVER: “Now the oil companies are placing their bets on John McCain, bankrolling his campaign, and gambling with our future.”

THE FACTS: McCain has received more than $1.5 million in contributions from oil and gas industry employees and their spouses, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. Obama has received about $423,000. But the center’s analysis found that Obama has received more than McCain from employees of the oil industry’s major companies. Employees (and their spouses) of Exxon, Chevron and BP had given more than $93,000 to Obama as of the end of June; McCain had received $75,000, according to the study.

RENDELL: Said the fact that top McCain advisers have lobbied for oil and gas companies “explains why he wants to give another $4 billion tax break to oil companies.”

THE FACTS: The $4 billion in tax breaks for oil companies is part of McCain’s plan to reduce corporate taxes overall and does not represent an additional tax benefit for these companies. The corporate reduction McCain has proposed would apply to all corporations, including oil companies.

MONTANA GOV. BRIAN SCHWEITZER: “At a time when America should be working harder than ever to develop new, clean sources, John McCain wants more of the same and has taken more than a million dollars in campaign donations from the oil and gas industry. Now he wants to give the oil companies another $4 billion in tax breaks. Four billion in tax breaks for big oil?”

THE FACTS: McCain has collected $1.5 million from that industry. But it’s a small slice of the $142 million McCain has raised so far in the campaign, ranking 11th on his donor list. Ahead of the oil and gas industry are lawyers, retirees, banking and securities interests, real estate and insurance.

Why am I not surprised that Democrats have left these important facts out of their speeches?

Technorati Tags: Speeches, FactCheck.org, Ed Rendell, Bob Casey, Democrats, John McCain, President Bush, Election 2008

Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog

1. So the lowest point in which McCain voted similarly to Bush was 77%. He should totally go with that in an ad campaign, telling the American people that he’s only kind of like Bush, but it was only for a little while.

   Comment by Liem — August 27, 2008 @ 11:16 am