Wherein lies the truth

Factchecking the first presidential debate of 2012

Posted by Glenn Kessler at 06:02 AM ET, 10/04/2012, WashPost

(This is an expanded version of material that originally appeared in the Oct. 4 print edition of The Washington Post.)

There they go again.

Both President Obama and former governor Mitt Romney tossed out a blizzard of statistics and facts, often of dubious origin. Here are some highlights from the first presidential debate of 2012, with thanks to the readers who tweeted suggestions to #FactCheckThis:

“Governor Romney’s central economic plan calls for a $5 trillion tax cut — on top of the extension of the Bush tax cuts — that’s another trillion dollars” — President Obama

“I don’t have a $5 trillion tax cut” — Governor Romney

How can both facts be true? The $5 trillion figure comes from the fact that Romney has proposed to cut tax rates by 20 percent and eliminate the estate tax and alternative minimum tax. The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center says that would reduce tax revenue by nearly $500 billion in 2015, or about $5 trillion over 10 years

(More here.)