Washington. A fact check of claims made by Mitt Romney during Wednesday’s domestic-policy debate shows numerous falsehoods, the magnitude of which could damage the electoral prospects of the Republican challenger. The three most egregious misrepresentations are as follows:
“23 million Americans are out of work.” False. Barrett Blankenship of the Bureau of Labor Statistics states that Romney’s claim is unequivocally false. “The September jobs data show that because of the upward revisions to the July and August numbers, only 22.97 million are out of work,” Blankenship said. “Romney’s failure to acknowledge that is, frankly, disturbing.”
“I have five boys.” False. A detailed analysis by forensics expert Richard Englehardt of a video clip from a hidden camera at the Republican National Convention reveals to a high degree of certitude that at least some of Romney’s sons appear to be at least 18 years of age and thus, in most states, of the age of majority.
“You don’t pick winners and losers. You pick losers.” False. A review of a 2009 Sportscenter broadcast on ESPN, shows President Obama correctly selecting the winner of the Georgetown–Maryland match-up in the NCAA Basketball Tournament.
Confronted outside the Romney home, conservatively valued at $122 billion, a spokesman for the Romney campaign conceded the validity of the fact-check analysis. “What can I say?’ He shrugged. ”You nailed us.”
In contrast, experts agree that all of the statements made by President Obama during the debate were 100 percent accurate, except those made while laboring under extreme hypoxia or simple indifference.
U.N ambassador Susan Rice, whose reputation for accuracy is well-chronicled, expressed alarm. “The scale of Romney’s prevarications is shocking and indefensible. There’s a serious risk that his lies will spark spontaneous violence in the Middle East. It’s clear the governor has no reservations about abusing the free-speech privileges granted by this administration. I’m perplexed as to why he hasn’t already been arrested on a probation violation.”
Independent fact-checker Davey Axelrod contributed to this report.