Presidential Debate Fact Check: Claims by Obama and Romney Reviewed
There were a lot of claims thrown around the political arena of the second Presidential debate on Tuesday.
So how do they stand up to the facts?
On the topic of Libya, President Obama talked about the Benghazi attack on the U.S. Consulate last month saying, "I stood in the Rose Garden and I told the American people and the world that we are going to find out exactly what happened. That this was an act of terror and I also said that we're going to hunt down those who committed this crime."
Governor Romney responded, "I want to make sure we get that for the record, because it took the president 14 days before he called the attack in Benghazi an act of terror."
The facts show that Obama was correct when he stated on Sept. 12, the day after the Benghazi attack, that: "No acts of terror will ever shake the resolve of this great nation, alter that character, or eclipse the light of the values that we stand for. ... We will not waver in our commitment to see that justice is done for this terrible act."
However, the administration continued saying that the attack was related to Islamic protests based on an American video. It took around a month for the administration to state that the attack was an act of terrorism and not the result of an angry demonstration.
On the topic of gas prices, Romney stated: "The proof of whether a strategy is working or not is what the price is that you're paying at the pump. If you're paying less than you paid a year or two ago, why, then, the strategy is working. But you're paying more. When the president took office, the price of gasoline here in Nassau County was about $1.86 a gallon. Now, it's $4 a gallon. The price of electricity is up. If the president's energy policies are working, you're going to see the cost of energy come down."
The fact is that Presidents have little effect on the prices of energy which are mostly based on global financial exchanges. Obama became president during a financial crisis that saw global demand drop for crude oil. Now prices have risen as demand and production, including a growth in U.S. oil production, increased.
There are other forms of energy that have done better since Obama took office. Production of natural gas increased during Obama's administration with homeowners seeing prices drop as well as lower prices for electricity.
Some of other claims made by both side include a false claim by Obama that Romney said wind-powered jobs are "imaginary" when Romney actually talked about "an imaginary world" in which "windmills and solar panels could power the economy."
Romney also claimed that under Obama 580,000 women have lost their jobs when the actual figure is around 93,000.
On the topic of immigration Obama stated: "For young people who've come here, brought here oftentimes by their parents, have gone to school here, pledged allegiance to the flag, think of this as their country and understand themselves as Americans in every way except having papers, we should make sure we give them a pathway to citizenship. And that's what I've done administratively."
Both sides have made their claims, but the facts remain the same.
