Analysis: Untruths have consequences in politics

AP RON FOURNIER, Associated Press Writer
Sat Feb 20, 10:52 am ET

WASHINGTON – Conservatives leapt to their feet when Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney declared Democrats the party of "No!" — no to balanced budgets, limits on lawsuits, tax cuts and tough interrogations of terror suspects.

But their applause this week at the Conservative Political Action Conference was for an illusion. Romney's assertions lacked context at best and at worst were flat-out wrong.

While Romney and fellow Republicans were filling the air with red-meat distortions, liberal Democratic activists were torturing facts online as they wrote commentary about the conservative gathering.

Americans are almost numb to it by now, expecting politicians and their allies to fudge facts. President Barack Obama embellishes the number of jobs created by last year's stimulus bill while Republicans claim, incorrectly, that not a single job resulted from the measure.

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