Posted by Glenn Kessler at 06:02 AM ET, 05/25/2012
http://www.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_606w/WashingtonPost/Content/Blogs/fact-checker/Images/Obama_00fa3.jpg?uuid=JEUazKXqEeGec_Tjh5s0ow
(Carolyn Kaster/AP)
“I simply make the point, as an editor might say, to check it out; do not buy into the BS that you hear about spending and fiscal constraint with regard to this administration. I think doing so is a sign of sloth and laziness.”
— White House spokesman Jay Carney, remarks to the press gaggle, May 23, 2012
The spokesman’s words caught our attention because here at The Fact Checker we try to root out “BS” wherever it occurs.
Carney made his comments while berating reporters for not realizing that “the rate of spending — federal spending — increase is lower under President Obama than all of his predecessors since Dwight Eisenhower, including all of his Republican predecessors.” He cited as his source an article by Rex Nutting, of MarketWatch, titled, “Obama spending binge never happened,” which has been the subject of lots of buzz in the liberal blogosphere.
But we are talking about the federal budget here. That means lots of numbers — numbers that are easily manipulated. Let’s take a look...
The Pinocchio Test
Carney suggested the media were guilty of “sloth and laziness,” but he might do better next time than cite an article he plucked off the Web, no matter how much it might advance his political interests. The data in the article are flawed, and the analysis lacks context — context that could easily could be found in the budget documents released by the White House.
The White House might have a case that some of the rhetoric concerning Obama’s spending patterns has been overblown, but the spokesman should do a better job of checking his facts before accusing reporters of failing to do so. The picture is not as rosy as he portrayed it when accurate numbers, taken in context, are used.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/rw/WashingtonPost/Content/Blogs/fact-checker/StandingArt/pinocchio_3.jpg?uuid=uLasnkniEeCn1tWe_T6KGAThree Pinocchios
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