Ad-Watch: Candidate television advertisement texts, and analysis

EXPLANATORY NOTE by OnTheIssues.org:

FactCheck.org analyses the veracity of statements made during political races. OnTheIssues.org summarizes two sets of analyses:
1. From presidential debates
2. From presidential TV & radio advertisements

Following is the self-description of how FactCheck.org works:

[FactCheck.org is] a nonpartisan, nonprofit, "consumer advocate" for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. We monitor the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews, and news releases. Our goal is to apply the best practices of both journalism and scholarship, and to increase public knowledge and understanding.

The Annenberg Political Fact Check is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. The APPC was established by publisher and philanthropist Walter Annenberg in 1994 to create a community of scholars within the University of Pennsylvania that would address public policy issues at the local, state, and federal levels.

The APPC accepts NO funding from business corporations, labor unions, political parties, lobbying organizations or individuals. It is funded primarily by the Annenberg Foundation.

-- Jesse Gordon, jesse@OnTheIssues.org, November 2007

Click on a participant to pop-up their full list of quotations from Ad-Watch (number of quotes indicated): Dick Gephardt (2) George W. Bush (3) Howard Dean (3) John Edwards (2) John Kerry (4) Joseph Lieberman (1) Ralph Nader (1) OR click on an issue category below for a subset.

Abortion    George W. Bush: Kerry's abortion stance shows the wrong priorities.    John Edwards: Ad: compassion, truth, and hope over fear-mongering.

Corporations    Howard Dean: AdWatch: "Hold corporations accountable"-but gave incentives.

Crime    John Kerry: Opposes death penalty except for post 9-11 terrorists.

Health Care    Dick Gephardt: AdWatch: Criticizes Dean for 11-year-old outdated stances.

Jobs    John Kerry: 2.7M manufacturing jobs lost under Bush.    Dick Gephardt: AdWatch: claims Bush did worst on jobs-but Reagan did worse.

Principles & Values    John Kerry: Urban Legend: Kerry did not disparage Reagan at funeral.    Ralph Nader: Ad: Nader helped by Republican donors.    George W. Bush: Ad: Kerry missed votes in the Senate by campaigning.    Joseph Lieberman: AdWatch: Fighting extremes of both parties.

Tax Reform    George W. Bush: Ad: The largest tax relief in history.    John Edwards: AdWatch: claims millionaires pay more than cops-not really.

War & Peace    John Kerry: Swift Boat Vets attack Kerry's medals.    Howard Dean: AdWatch: "My opponents voted for war"-negative but true.    Howard Dean: AdWatch: blames Gephardt for $87B-but Dean's view evolved.

Click for quotations from other sources by:
• Dick Gephardt
• George W. Bush
• Howard Dean
• John Edwards
• John Kerry
• Joseph Lieberman
• Ralph Nader