RNC Research

“President Obama Ended Up With Three Of The Most Misleading Claims Of The Year.” (Glenn Kessler, “The Biggest Pinocchios Of 2013,” The Washington Post’s The Fact Checker, 12/16/13)

Obama’s Broken “Keep Your Plan” Promise

Obama’s Promise That Americans Could Keep Their Plan “Backfired On Him” Once “Millions Of Americans Started Receiving Cancellation Notices.” “This memorable promise by President Obama backfired on him when the Affordable Care Act went into effect and millions of Americans started receiving cancellation notices. As we explained, part of the reason for so many cancellations is because of an unusually early (March 23, 2o10) cut-off date for grandfathering plans—and also because of tight regulations written by the administration.” (Glenn Kessler, “The Biggest Pinocchios Of 2013,” The Washington Post’s The Fact Checker, 12/16/13)

Obama In June 2009: “And That Means That No Matter How We Reform Health Care, We Will Keep This Promise To The American People: If You Like Your Doctor, You Will Be Able To Keep Your Doctor, Period. If You Like Your Health Care Plan, You’ll Be Able To Keep Your Health Care Plan, Period.” OBAMA: “So let me begin by saying this to you and to the American people: I know that there are millions of Americans who are content with their health care coverage; they like their plan and, most importantly, they value their relationship with their doctor. They trust you. And that means that no matter how we reform health care, we will keep this promise to the American people: If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor, period. If you like your health care plan, you’ll be able to keep your healthcare plan, period. No one will take it away, no matter what. My view is that health care reform should be guided by a simple principle: Fix what’s broken and build on what works. And that’s what we intend to do.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks To The American Medical Association National Conference, Chicago, IL, 6/15/09)

The Washington Post’s Fact Checker: Obama’s Pledge That Americans Who Like Their Healthcare Plans Can Keep Them Was “One Of The Most Memorable Of His Presidency” And “Possibly Foolish.”  “The president’s pledge that ‘if you like your insurance, you will keep it’ is one of the most memorable of his presidency. It was also an extraordinarily bold — and possibly foolish — pledge, unless he thought he simply could dictate exactly how the insurance industry must work. At the time, some observers noted the problems with Obama’s promise.” (Glenn Kessler, “Obama’s Pledge That ‘No One Will Take Away’ Your Health Plan,” The Washington Post’s Fact Checker, 10/30/13)

• The Washington Post’s Fact Checker Gives Obama’s Pledge Four Pinocchios. “The president’s promise apparently came with a very large caveat: ‘If you like your health care plan, you’ll be able to keep your health care plan — if we deem it to be adequate.’ Four Pinocchios.” (Glenn Kessler, “Obama’s Pledge That ‘No One Will Take Away’ Your Health Plan,” The Washington Post’s Fact Checker, 10/30/13)

The Washington Post’s Fact Checker: “One Might Excuse The President For Making An Aspirational Pledge As The Health-Care Bill Was Being Drafted, But It Turns Out He Kept Saying It After The Bill Was Signed Into Law.” (Glenn Kessler, “Obama’s Pledge That ‘No One Will Take Away’ Your Health Plan,” The Washington Post’s Fact Checker, 10/30/13)

The Claim Was Also Named “Lie Of The Year” By PolitiFact: “Lie Of The Year: ‘If You Like Your Health Care Plan, You Can Keep It.’”(Angie Drobnic Holan, “Lie Of The Year: ‘If You Like Your Health Care Plan, You Can Keep It,’” PolitiFact, 12/12/13)

Obama’s Misleading Sequester Statement

Obama “Was Completely Wrong” When He “Offered An Evocative Image At A News Conference When The Sequester Struck.” “President Obama offered an evocative image at a news conference when the sequester struck–— janitors sweeping the empty halls of the Capitol, laboring for less pay. But it turned out that he was completely wrong. Janitorial staff did not face a pay cut—and Capitol Hill administrative officials even issued a statement saying the president’s remarks were ‘not true.’” (Glenn Kessler, “The Biggest Pinocchios Of 2013,” The Washington Post’s The Fact Checker, 12/16/13)

Obama Said That Janitors At The U.S. Capitol Would Receive A Pay Cut Due To The Sequester Cuts. OBAMA: “Starting tomorrow, everybody here, all the folks who are cleaning the floors at the Capitol — now that Congress has left, somebody is going to be vacuuming and cleaning those floors and throwing out the garbage — they’re going to have less pay. The janitors, the security guards, they just got a pay cut, and they’ve got to figure out how to manage that. That’s real.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks On The Sequester, Washington, D.C., 3/6/13)

• The Washington Post‘s The Fact Checker Gave The White House’s Attempts To Clarify Obama’s Remarks Four Pinocchios, Saying That “Rather Than Admit An Error, White House Aides Doubled Down On Their Talking Points…” “But a clean-up brigade shouldn’t simply try to deflect and obfuscate. Apparently, the president assumed – incorrectly – that the janitors on Capitol Hill would get a pay cut. Rather than admit an error, White House aides doubled down on their talking points about overtime being essential to their livelihood, without actually knowing the truth.” (Glenn Kessler, “Capitol Janitors Making ‘Ends Meet’ With Overtime? Nope,” The Washington Post ‘s The Fact Checker, 3/6/13)

Obama’s Bungled Benghazi Quote

Obama “Never Affirmatively Stated That The American Ambassador Died Because Of An ‘Act Of Terror.’” “President Obama did refer to an ‘act of terror’ in the immediate aftermath of the Benghazi attack, but in vague terms, wrapped in a patriotic fervor. He never affirmatively stated that the American ambassador died because of an ‘act of terror.’ Then, over a period of two weeks, given three opportunities in interviews to affirmatively agree that the Benghazi attack was a terrorist attack, the president obfuscated or ducked the question. So this is a case of taking revisionist history too far for political reasons.” (Glenn Kessler, “The Biggest Pinocchios Of 2013,” The Washington Post’s The Fact Checker, 12/16/13)

Obama In A May 13Press Conference: “The Day After [Benghazi] Happened, I Acknowledged That This Was An Act Of Terrorism.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks At A Joint Press Conference With U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron, Washington, DC, 5/13/13)

The Washington Post’s Fact Checker: “Four Pinocchios.” (Glenn Kessler, “Obama’s Claim He Called Benghazi An ‘Act Of Terrorism’,” The Washington Post’s Fact Checker, 5/14/13)

The Washington Post’s Fact Checker: “The President’s Claim That He Said ‘Act Of Terrorism’ Is Taking Revisionist History Too Far, Given That He Repeatedly Refused To Commit To That Phrase When Asked Directly By Reporters In The Weeks After The Attack.” “During the campaign, the president could just get away with claiming he said ‘act of terror,’ since he did use those words — though not in the way he often claimed. It seemed like a bit of after-the-fact spin, but those were his actual words — to the surprise of Mitt Romney in the debate. But the president’s claim that he said ‘act of terrorism’ is taking revisionist history too far, given that he repeatedly refused to commit to that phrase when asked directly by reporters in the weeks after the attack. He appears to have gone out of his way to avoid saying it was a terrorist attack, so he has little standing to make that claim now.” (Glenn Kessler, “Obama’s Claim He Called Benghazi An ‘Act Of Terrorism’,” The Washington Post’s Fact Checker, 5/14/13)

• The Washington Post’s Fact Checker: Obama Is “Pretending The Right Words Were Uttered.” “Indeed, the initial unedited talking points did not call it an act of terrorism. Instead of pretending the right words were uttered, it would be far better to acknowledge that he was echoing what the intelligence community believed at the time–and that the administration’s phrasing could have been clearer and more forthright from the start.” (Glenn Kessler, “Obama’s Claim He Called Benghazi An ‘Act Of Terrorism’,” The Washington Post’s Fact Checker, 5/14/13)