Dobre Andrei 11R2

05.02.2012

Mitt Romney claims that Obama went around the world apologizing for the United States
In a debate in Orlando on Sept. 22, 2011, Mitt Romney charged that President Obama has gone around the world apologizing for America. President Obama went around the world and apologized for America, Romney said, in response to a question about Israel and the Middle East. Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, has made this charge several times. While Obama's speeches contained some criticisms of past U.S. actions, those passages were typically leavened by praise for the United States and its ideals, and he frequently mentioned how other countries have erred as well. We found not a single, full-throated apology in the bunch. And on the new angle Romney has added -- that the trips were intended to offer the president a forum to apologize to other countries -- we think its a ridiculous charge. Theres a clear difference between changing policies and apologizing, and Obama didnt do the latter. Source: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2011/sep/22/mitt-romney/mitt-romney-repeatsclaim-obama-went-around-world-/

Mitt Romney says U.S. Navy is smallest since 1917, Air Force is smallest since 1947
During the Jan. 16, 2012, Republican presidential debate in Myrtle Beach, S.C., former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney took aim at President Barack Obamas support for the U.S. military. The most extraordinary thing that's happened with this military authorization is the president is planning on cutting $1 trillion out of military spending, Romney said. Our Navy is smaller than it's been since 1917. Our Air Force is smaller and older than any time since 1947.

We are not giving the veterans the care they deserve. And I will fight to make sure America retains military superiority.

This is a great example of a politician using more or less accurate statistics to make a meaningless claim. Judging by the numbers alone, Romney was close to accurate. In recent years, the number of Navy and Air Force assets has sunk to levels not seen in decades, although the number of ships has risen slightly under Obama.

However, a wide range of experts told us its wrong to assume that a decline in the number of ships or aircraft automatically means a weaker military. Quite the contrary: The United States is the worlds unquestioned military leader today, not just because of the number of ships and aircraft in its arsenal but also because each is stocked with top-of-the-line technology and highly trained personnel. Put it all together and you have a statement that, despite being close to accurate in its numbers, uses those numbers in service of a ridiculous point. Source: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2012/jan/18/mitt-romney/mitt-romney-says-usnavy-smallest-1917-air-force-s/

Romney says his health care bill affected far smaller percentage of people than Obama's
During a Sep. 5, 2011, Republican presidential candidate forum in South Carolina sponsored by Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., Mitt Romney defended the health care overhaul he signed into law when he was governor of Massachusetts, seeking to contrast it with the health care law signed by President Barack Obama last year. Addressing Obamas law, Romney said: He dealt with 100 percent of American people. He said I'm going to change health care for all of you. It's simply unconstitutional. It's bad law. It's bad medicine, and on Day One of my administration, I will direct the secretary of Health and Human Services to grant a waiver from Obamacare to all 50 states. It has got to be stopped, and I know it better than most. Given the unpopularity of the federal health care law within the Republican base, its understandable that Romney is trying to show primary voters that the law he signed is different from the one Obama signed. However, Romneys example is specious -- a felony case of comparing apples and oranges. Either both laws affected something approaching 100 percent of the populace, or they affected

about 8 percent (in Massachusetts) and 17 percent (in the U.S. as a whole). Romney is mixing two completely different things together to make a point that simply isn't valid.

The way Romney phrased it, listeners would be led to believe that the reach of the federal law is vastly wider than that of the Massachusetts law. In reality, on the question of covering the uninsured through an individual mandate, the percentages of people affected arent wildly divergent. Source: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2011/sep/07/mitt-romney/romney-says-hishealth-care-bill-affected-far-smal/

Mitt Romney says U.S. is "only inches away from ceasing to be a free market economy.
In June 2, 2011 Mitt Romney made a bold claim about the state of the American economy. "Government under President Obama has grown to consume almost 40 percent of our economy," he said. "We are only inches away from ceasing to be a free market economy." Its true that the governments footprint on spending has grown over the past few years, due in large part to the recession. But while the statistics show that the government continues to have a large influence on the economy, there is little indication that the governments role has risen dramatically enough over the past few years to threaten the kind of free market that the U.S. has operated under in recent decades. And international comparisons show that the U.S. ranks low in both total tax burden and high in economic freedom. Source: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2011/jun/02/mitt-romney/mitt-romney-says-usonly-inches-away-ceasing-be-fr/