Good, transition from one Administration to the other. Why mess with something that is working. See...Bush can and did do a few things right. Our military deserves a raise considering what they endure in combat zones. Those in bases like the ones in Germany, for example, not so much but something, nevertheless to keep up with rising costs of living.

Wow - It would have been nice if the media had picked apart Bush's statements with such gusto...basically - both statements were true, but let's try to undermine them anyway. I'm fine with fact checking - when he lies - tell us. But come on... really? "This was all Bush's idea."  

...so FR fact checked the speech and proved that these two things were true?  Sounds good to me.

Obama: "I am increasing the number of soldiers and Marines, so that we lessen the burden on those who are serving."

Fact: This was actually a President Bush initiative -- he introduced it during the speech announcing the surge in Iraq. Both the Army and Marine Corps have been growing for more than two years now, and they are both growing ahead of schedule.  The FY10 budget will likely be the last one to fund their increases.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The most important fact: the work is being done by a responsible President to end this war.

So if President Obama affirms these policies, that means he is not telling the truth?

Here's hoping you apply the same fine tooth comb to the Republican lies spewing forth out of Congress every day. You can start with the high speed rail line from Disney to Vegas lie, and work your way back from there.

Truth squad indeed.

What is your point First Read?  Obama was truthful on both accounts.  Pay raises are not automatic (particularly in an economic downturn).  And Obama is president now, so if he didn't suppport increasing the number of troops (something he often called for when campaigning), then he could halt the program that was already started.  In the speech when he said "we'll cure cancer."  That was probably a stretch of the truth, but not these things that you pointed out.

why the OCD fact checking of the President's speech, when you constantly give air time to outright lies of the right wing?  as far as i'm concerned, if you are going to allow one side to lie constantly and repeat them ad nauseum without fact checking them, the fact check police shouldn't be in full force about the other sides speeches...

and the results are, hmmm, everything he said is true, you just want to give credit to those who came before and did the same thing.  i'm cool with giving credit where credit is due, and i don't blame GWB for all the problems that our country faces, but its time to drop all the propagandist messaging and start some honest to god reporting on real issues instead of creating and distributing spin to support an ideological belief.

This type of analysis just creates less confidence in your reporting...

Kind of nitpicky...both claims are true..the military will get pay raises and they will get bigger...my suggestion is that Courtney think about moving over to cnbc or fox where you can be a lazy reporter and get away with it...

Anna Molly:

Apparently your flip sister Molly Anna has put a few up on you.

How ya holdin' out, Annie?

Bush is responsible for every good measure and yet not responsible for any failures.  
MSNBC-FR don't you tally the bill and let us know the honest accounting costs of President Bush since he started, this thing and his "good work" continues?  

I'm sorry. This is not a fact check. To me, you are making statements on things that when they haven't even made additional statements about what they are going to do.

THANK YOU FOR BEING HONEST AND REPORTING THE FACT THAT PRESIDENT BUSH WAS THE CREATOR OF THIS INITIATIVE
iT IS A SHAME BUT THE BUSH BUILDUP IN iRAQ HAS WORKED AND THIS INITIATIVE HAS WORKED --YET PEOPLE FAIL TO CREDIT BUSH WITH ANY GOOD DONE--HISTORY WILL SHOW BUSH TO BE ONE OF THE BEST PRESIDENTS--THE MEDIA AND THE NEWS NETWORKS GOT OBAMA ELECTED BY DOWNGRADING THE EFFORTS OF BUSH--AT LEAST THE USA WAS SAFE DURING THE BUSH PRESIDENCY--IT WILL BE INTERESTING TO SEE IF THE OBAMA "NO MORE WAR AND LOVE THE WORLD DEFENSE " REALLY WILL KEEPS AMERICA SAFE--IT IS DOUBTFUL

Bob Smith, Obamanation, USSA: '...Market down 80.  Still waiting for Obamanation to fix our economy for us. Or at least stop making it WORSE....'

The high point of my IRA was Oct 2007
The big drop was from then to Oct 2008
That was Bush's doing
Note that the continuing drop reflects the economy that Bush left

That said, the Stock market is a SHORT TERM indicator
Obama nad Congress must focus on LONG TERM SOLUTIONS

The era of 'smash and grab' economics has died with the Bush Administration

Trickle down, supply side and de-regulation have been discredited

Sorry to be the one to have to break this to you...


Oh, and about Santa Claus......

I think Obamanation said he'd fix the economy.

Stocks down 30...

This is really amazing,8 years of Bush lieing his ass off,the msm sucking it up and now you have a truth squad.You media types have to be the most out of tpouch people I have ever seen.It's bad enough that you drool over everything Rush says,heck if there is some blame to go around you in the media must have some blood on your hands.You stood by and did nothing,you where suckered by a con man pretending to be the President.To you so called reporters,do a story on who is singing up to serve.What you will find is that there are a whole lot of inner=city kids,with out a lot for them as far as work are the ones going to fight.Time to bring the draft back so all of our young people can have a chance to serve.Rich kids to.

Wow, libs can't stand the truth, MSNBC. They're used to your slanted reporting. They're disappointed in you for messing with their programmed minds.

Some simple questions for Pete, Salinas CA:

The cost of living has been rising at an astronical rate for the past 8 years while wages paid have remained staganant.

*Actually, the last 12 years. Wages and the median income have all risen during that period. Check the stats for the period 1996-2008.

When gas goes from $2 a gallon to $5 a gallon, is that not a tax on the American people?

*Could be viewed as that but it is on ALL Americans equally, correct, unless you pay nothing for it or don’t use it. The is not mandate that gas be used.  

When the cost of healtcare rises 20% a year, is that not a tax on the American people?

*Could be, much like the cost of a college education, but no one seems to be screaming about that.  Again that is equal unless you don’t pay at all for it or do not use it. Unfortunately, it seems a college education has become a requirement to keep the revenue flow positive.

When pharmaceutical companies charge outrageous prices for their drugs to pay for their unrelenting ad campaigns, is that not a tax on the American people?

*Could be, much like the cost of a college education, but no one seems to be putting them down like big business. Cost of education has risen higher and faster than any of these in the last 4 years and again, no one is screaming about this.

The only difference is, when we pay our taxes to OUR GOVERNMENT, we actually get something in return, instead of watching our money disappear into the black hole of corporate greed and corruption.

*Okay, bear with me as I may get lengthy here. It appears that you are not fully aware of the cost of doing business in regards to what we pay and where it goes. Many make more than others, but profits versus revenue often vary dramatically. If I was a big business owner, I would try to locate my business where it most benefited my company. After all, that is the only reason business exists. What business creates or delivers often time becomes something people want and use but there is never a real right for the product or service to be available to people. It’s a convenience and in many cases a blessing. We have to remember were it not for these businesses coming up with the products or services, they would not exist in many cases. Corruption appears to exist in the very Government we as taxpayers are required to pay our money into. There is no requirement of mandate to support a business. We do that of our own free will, for our own needs or convenience. No one makes us take that route.

The Government on the other hand, mandates, requires and regulates when and how much of our incomes we must give to them.


The American people have caught on to the scam now Pete, taxes are not the enemy. Unregulated capitalism is.

After seeing what is happening this week , the American people, at least those who pay taxes, struggle to provide for their children and future generations, work hard to get ahead, resent someone running their lives out of servitude, will soon recognize what is happening to their lives, their future and future generations and vote to go away from the type of big government that has been revealed.  Time will tell, as it always does, where the core of the American people actually is rooted.

Nashville_fan

OMG David Gregory is so pathetic; he was looking for anyone on the panel to say that Obama said mission accomplished and for the most part they didn’t bit.

Arie Fleischer already admitted last Sunday on the D L Hugely show that David Gregory was a supporter of the George W. Bush White and so his performance today is totally signally that.

Hey David Gregory

There is no news story here and is doesn’t matter how hard you try to push President Obama never said “MISSION ACCOMPLISHED” You keep trying to put him in the same category as your President Bush but “NO ONE” is falling for it.

You are no Tim Russert and that is why Meet the Press is no longer worth watching.

Pretty lame truth squad.
Every President brags that he will raise military pay.

What the truth squad should have said about the claim that he will increase the number of soldiers and Marines is that requirements for enlistment have been severely lowered - lower education levels, increased maximum age, granting waivers for those who have had problems with the law, and, best of all, increased enlistment bonuses.
Those are some of the reasons enlistments increased under the Bush Admin and will continue to increase under Obama.

95% of the media loves to push the left wing propaganda and continue this hypnotic love affair with Obama without reporting his socialist views.  I'm glad to finally see some criticism of Obama outside of talk radio.  Maybe someday liberals will wake up and see that they have been spoon fed socialism and become outright Marxists like Obama.  Government control and Obama are the problem, not the solution.

Well, are the claims true or aren't they?  Seems to me that they are.  After all, President Obama could have reversed course on each of those things.  Moreover, this post does not put those claims in context with anything else President Obama might be proposing for members of the military.  If, for example, there is more money for veterans' health care, especially mental health care, then by virtue of that alone, Obama's proposal is already superior to anything Bush EVER proposed.

And if it turns out that Obama's proposal isn't enough, then maybe it's high time for Congress to step up to the plate.  Start with Senator I'm-the-only-one-who-knows-what-it's-like-to-fight-a-war McCain, the same McCain who was against veterans' benefits until he was for them, until he was against them, until he was for them ....  

And while we're on that subject, a big ditto to the comment earlier (I forget from whom) asking when McCain is finally going to reveal his secret plan to end the war in Iraq and to capture Osama bin Laden.  Instead of nitpicking over whether President Obama plans to pull the troops out of Iraq in 16 months or 19, it would be interesting to see Countdown or Chris Matthews or Rachel Maddow put McCain's feet to the fire about his claim he knew just what to do.  I sure didn't hear that coming out of his comments yesterday.  Conservative bloggers -- any thoughts?  

Hey First Read - you could only find TWO things to clarify - well... seems we finally have a president that does his homework and has a strong ex-Presidntial candidate that actually feels this is a good plan ( in case you forgot, his name is Senator Mc Cain!)..tt from Philly

The most important fact: the work is being done by a responsible President to end this war.

Beverly in Chicago

After what Obama has spent in a few weeks, there is no way he can be called or considered "responsible".

Would you take out additional credit cards if you were alreay buried in debt at your house? Would you try to spend more than you have, even if it wasn't absolutely necessary? If your Mom or Dad did it and told you that you'd be paying for it, well, you might get a bit upset, like many young people are beginning to.

No, Obama is a lot of things, but responsible is not one of them.

"The FY10 budget will likely be the last one to fund their increases. "

On what basis do you make this claim.  Has the FY11 budget blueprint been release.  I find it funny you call this a "fact"

WTF??? You now fat check Obama but let the GOP thugs run talking point lie after lie all day long everyday on MSNBC??? This is outrageous. The GOP lies all the time, Bush did nothing for the troops and wanted to CUT funding over and over as well as their benefits and you are doing this???
COME ON MSNBC.

Agreed on the most important thing is that Obama is ending this. AND BTW, Bush didnt have a clue until OBAMA was talking about this on the campaign. Many people have short memories

Obama has never had and seems never will have a problem with lying to people or mis representing the facts to make himself look good.

He's such a computer generated figure. Looks real, sounds real, but when you get a closer look, you see it's not really there.

David Gregory has lots to nerve to imply our President as a hypocrite. Yes, he opposed the war. So why would you bring up something as pointless as him praising our Marines.

Perhaps, David Gregory should get his precedence in sequence and stop being a closet, divisive, hypocrite.

Keith O. and Rachel will NAIL Obama on these! This is exactly the type of lying and distortion of facts that gets them fired up.

It will be fun seeing how they go after him!

(Raise your hand if you think they actually will)

What good is increasing the NUMBER of soldiers if he is decreasing the amount for the equipment and resources needed to do a good job and keep this country safe???

Who checks the fact checkers?  Nobody is the answer. What facts do they pick to correct?  It seems this is just another way to complain about nothing.  How many rolls of toilet paper did Obama say he used.  We found out it is really more.

Let's stop picking apart everything everybody does.  Give this man time to do his job the best way he knows how.  Spend time reporting something that makes a difference....none of these so called "fact checks" make any difference to anyone!

To me, the passage below is was a high point of the speech - words of respect and dignity from our President to the people of Iraq...we're not after your land or your oil.

"Now, before I go any further, I want to take a moment to speak directly to the people of Iraq.

You are a great nation, rooted in the cradle of civilization. You are joined together by enduring accomplishments, and a history that connects you as surely as the two rivers carved into your land. In years past, you have persevered through tyranny and terror; through personal insecurity and sectarian violence. And instead of giving in to the forces of disunion, you stepped back from a descent into civil war, and showed a proud resilience that deserves respect.

Our nations have known difficult times together. But ours is a bond forged by shared bloodshed, and countless friendships among our people. We Americans have offered our most precious resource – our young men and women – to work with you to rebuild what was destroyed by despotism; to root out our common enemies; and to seek peace and prosperity for our children and grandchildren, and for yours.

There are those who will try to prevent that future for Iraq – who will insist that Iraq’s differences cannot be reconciled without more killing. They represent the forces that destroy nations and lead only to despair, and they will test our will in the months and years to come. America, too, has known these forces. We endured the pain of Civil War, and bitter divisions of region and race. But hostility and hatred are no match for justice; they offer no pathway to peace; and they must not stand between the people of Iraq and a future of reconciliation and hope.

So to the Iraqi people, let me be clear about America’s intentions. The United States pursues no claim on your territory or your resources. We respect your sovereignty and the tremendous sacrifices you have made for your country. We seek a full transition to Iraqi responsibility for the security of your country. And going forward, we can build a lasting relationship founded upon mutual interests and mutual respect as Iraq takes its rightful place in the community of nations."

Thank you, President Obama.

Pres Obama is merely stating what he is going to do, he is not saying that he thought of it first.

One thing I'd really like to know is where we're going to get these extra troops.  We've already lowered standards below where they ought to be.  Without raising pay beyond COLA or adding additional incentives, this is all just wishful thinking.  

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Flaming Star ~

By any chance, are you implying that I don't sound like myself?  Neither do I.  But do you happen to know where I can find Molly Anna?  I need to thank her ... in my own special way, of course.  

Meanwhile, I'm holding out just fine.  And thank YOU for asking.  How about you?  We should have tea one of these days and catch up, don't you think?  

What is your point First Read?  Obama was truthful on both accounts.  Pay raises are not automatic (particularly in an economic downturn).  And Obama is president now, so if he didn't suppport increasing the number of troops (something he often called for when campaigning), then he could halt the program that was already started.  In the speech when he said "we'll cure cancer."  That was probably a stretch of the truth, but not these things that you pointed out.
Kelly (from Pittsburgh) (Sent Friday, February 27, 2009 12:43 PM)

*****************************************************

Stick to what YOU know. Military pay raises are almost automatic. Those raises were approved for 4 consecutive fiscal years. Evidently you haven't served. If you had you would know about raises. Economic times has nothing to do with what is already budgeted.  The troop increase was initiated by Bush to try and get levels back up to the point before Clinton slashed the strength. None of this is new to the people "in the know." I love it how everyone think they are a military affairs expert and never served. Like I said "Stick to what YOU know." and that is blabbering off at the mouth on blogs.

After an 8 year hiatus of checking any facts at all, I can't help but laugh at the Corporate media's mad dash to get at the truth of every matter. Do the bobble heads that pass themselves as "journalists" have ANY credibility anymore?

>> This is the same excuse Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez tells his people. Mike Rowe, Iowa (Sent Friday, February 27, 2009 10:22 AM) (from another thread) <<

It's a "dirty job," but someone's gotta do it.  ;)  

Don't do this to Democrats FR!

Just the Repubs.

It's better if only we Dem's look like the one's who care and are honest.

Showing this type of thing weakens the image we are trying to portray.

Know what I'm sayin?

We need to Blame Bush on this kind of stuff.

Don't tell anybody I said this. Let it be our secret.

Know what I'm sayin?

I don't like Obama. Period. If you read me then you know that. I think he's a radical who, due to much teaching and posturing, made his way into the game and, as a super orator, comes acrossed like he knows what he's talking about when he hasn't a clue. I think his strings are pulled by Pelosi and I think he was generally disrespectful to Bush, who was extremely gracious to Barack during the transition.
Then Obama made some terrible comments about Bush while Bush and family sat right there and "had" to listen to it. Bush would not have done the same thing had the shoe been on the other foot. Bush never blamed Clinton for the mess he left Bush, even the Clinton pranksters who left the White House a mess after Bush won the election. Bush never brought it up. Always gracious.

There are a few things I AGREE with concerning Obama and a few policies I AGREE with concerning Pelosi, although I generally have contempt for both of them and wouldn't feel real bad if they both choked on a chicken bone.

While I understand that liberals would dislike or disagree with conservativesin in general, like me and many others like me feel toward liberals, I'm finding NO ONE ISSUE that any liberal would agree with concerning any conservative. In other words, even I have found a few things about Obama and Pelosi that are redeeming but the libs are completely deameaning just to be demeaning.

While Palin has been the focus of much liberal hatred ... why? Is ther nothing about her that is good or admirable? I'm just using her as an example.

What's the deal? Do we hate libs and conservatives for just being who they are or do we hate or disagree with their policies?

Like I said of Obama, I have a strong dislke for his attitude and I think he's an arrogant radical, but I do see some (a few) positives about him.

No one went through bush 8 years of lies to the American People with a fine tooth comb. This Fact check sounds like a bunch of cow doo doo!

I think Obamanation said he'd fix the economy.

Stocks down 30...
Bob Smith, Obamanation, USSA (Sent Friday, February 27, 2009 12:54 PM)

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Grow up.

Do you still ride around in cars asking, "Are we there yet?"

MSierra:

How did your IRA get to its high point in October, 2007?

It is always great to hear from the folks that drank the kool-aide...fact BO said he did these things and he did not.  Honest people call those lies.

And before the nuts from the Obamanation start with the Bush, Bush, Bush BS...Your man still lied.

The president delivered a great speech and I believe it stated his goals. I personally don't agree with his assumptions. To take from someone and giving it to another doesn't provide an incentive for either party. That is part of his proposal. Higher education is only of benefit when applied so suggesting that everyone needs some college education to be productive to the countries future seems oposite to what has made this country great. The last item is health care and I believe regulating health care will do little to reduce its cost . It may provide a different level of care to some but at a cost to others. An example is taxing those who smoke to provide additional care to others. Reducing medicare benefits to pay for others is another example.

Gail, TN;

Thanks to George Bush, Obama is able to make that speech.

Just a side question:  If oil was really our objective, our primary objective, don't you think we could have accomplished that in pretty short order?

And Gail:

There was nothing new in the speech, only the mouth that uttered it.  It reflected consistency with the past, even though I doubt your ingrained perspective allows you to acknowledge it.

There are plenty of Bush speeches and comments that reflect the message President Obama conveyed in such a favorable way to you.

I got to cut a republican out today. Boss said we got to cut heads and I knew exactly who to select. We got us some of them thar tough talking anti socialism toadies working here that now get a chance to try out some of those socialist porgrams like unemployment and COBRA.

You should have heard the crying when they found out how much COBRA will be and how small those checks really are when you are used to the company taking care of you. TA TA tough guys.

So, you are fact checking stuff he said that is true? Well, OK, fine, but I have a question. Why don't you fact check Jindal's response speech, since key points of it have already been debunked? Oh, I forgot. Republicans are allowed to lie, and it's OK.

First Read, you are Morons.  Fact check this:  My daughter is Navel Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner and is deploying to Kuwait in April.  This is what she and her team will be doing:

What is Warrior Transition?

NECC is committed to supporting our sailors throughout the entire
deployment cycle. The Warrior Transition Program (WTP) is designed to assist in heightening awareness and/or management of combat and operational stress by providing our sailors and families with education,programs and tools that will strengthen them through the mental and logistical transition into and out of their assignments in places like Iraq, Afghanistan and other locations while serving directly in support of the Global War on Terror (GWOT).

The Warrior Transition Program in Kuwait provides our sailors with an opportunity to reintegrate back into the Navy, begin their transition home and receive some of the best pastoral care and counseling in a safe setting while surrounded by those who have "been there". The Sailors re guided and cared for by chaplains and social workers during these uplifting moments of stress release. They have the opportunity to rest and decompress while being granted exposure to classes, counseling and command support in preparation for their return home.

The ECRC Warrior Transition Program team in Kuwait is made up of a Commanding Officer, chaplains, social workers, Religious Program Specialists (enlisted Sailors who accompany and support chaplains), Hospital corpsmen (psychiatric specialty), supply clerks, gunners mates, operations and yeoman personnel working together to assist IA Sailors with making the transition to returning home after they have been embedded with an Army unit for 6 to 12 months.

When our Sailors load up and begin the journey home, it is our intention that they feel strongly supported, properly equipped and consciously
self-aware. It is our objective to send them home properly prepared to re-engage with their loving family while being proud of the selfless
service they rendered this great nation.

For the last 3 budget cycles John McCain and the Bush administration opposed the funding of the teams to help our soldiers, sailors and Marines cope with PTSD.

Again FR please delve deeper bfore you shoot your keyboard off while pandering to conervative idealogues.

I think Obamanation said he'd fix the economy.

Stocks down 30...
Bob Smith, Obamanation, USSA (Sent Friday, February 27, 2009 12:54 PM)

==========
You know, if you would read a couple of pages of the WSJ, or the current financial reports, you'd realize that these constant "updates" of your's are rather childish.  

But then again, if it makes you feel good to believe that Obama represents the end of the world, then feel free to live ignorance.

http://jawillie.blog.com

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