Reality Check: George Bush - A look at what the candidate said in the 3rd debate — and how his claims hold up By MITCH FRANK, Thursday, Oct. 14, 2004; ww.time.com/time/election2004/article/0,18471,723159,00.html

The Claim:
I have got a comprehensive strategy to not only chase down al-Qaeda wherever it exists — and we're making progress, three-quarters of al-Qaeda leaders have been brought to justice — but to make sure that countries who harbor terrorists are held to account.

Reality Check:
The CIA estimates that 75% of al-Qaeda's known leadership at the time of the September 11th Attacks has been killed or captured. The terrorist network has adapted, however, recruiting new leaders and gaining footholds in new countries. Some terrorism experts believe the president has been softer toward countries like Iran and Syria that are far more friendly to terrorists than Saddam Hussein's regime was.

The Claim:
I signed the Homeland Security Bill to better align our assets and resources. My opponent voted against it.

Reality Check:
Kerry voted against some provisions of the President's proposed Department of Homeland Security, but he voted for the final bill creating the department. The DHS was originally Joe Lieberman's proposal — the President solidly opposed it, but changed his mind after an onslaught of political pressure.

The Claim:
My opponent just this weekend talked about how terrorism can be reduced to a nuisance, comparing it to prostitution, illegal gambling. I think that attitude and that point of view is dangerous ... My opponent said this war is a matter of intelligence and law enforcement. No, this is a war as a matter of using every asset at our disposal to keep the American people protected.

Reality Check:
Kerry has repeatedly said that the military should be used to hunt down and destroy al-Qaeda, but that intelligence, law enforcement and diplomacy are key tools as well.

The Claim:
Gosh, I don't think I ever said I'm not worried about Osama bin Laden. That's kind of one of those exaggerations.

Reality Check:
At a March 13, 2002, press conference Bush said, "We haven't heard much from him ... And, again, I don't know where he is. I — I'll repeat what I said. I truly am not that concerned about him. I know he is on the run."

The Claim:
We have a problem with litigation in the United States of America. Vaccine manufacturers are worried about getting sued and so therefore they have backed off from providing this kind of vaccine.

Reality Check:
Lawsuits over vaccine side effects have raised liability costs for manufacturers and discouraged vaccine production. But there are several other reasons for the low number of vaccine producers. A big one is the low profits in the vaccine business. Flu vaccines take at least six months to produce, and often times, manufacturers don't know which strain of influenza will strike each year so they have to gamble on which type of vaccine to produce.

The Claim:
[Kerry's] proposed $2.2 trillion of new spending ... I proposed a detailed budget, Bob. I send up my budget man to the Congress and he says here's how we're going to reduce the deficit in half by five years, it requires pro-growth policies that grow our economy and fiscal sanity in the halls of Congress.

Reality Check:
Kerry's spending proposals are closer to $1.3 trillion. Bush's are closer to $2.2 trillion. The nonpartisan Concord Coalition estimates Mr. Bush's plan to make his tax cuts permanent, combined with new tax cuts and his domestic proposals, will add $1.32 trillion to the budget over the next decade. That does not include any increases in military spending and the President's proposal to create private social security accounts, which could cost at least $1 trillion more.

The Claim:
Health care costs are on the rise because the consumers are not involved in the decision-making process. Most health costs are covered by third parties. And therefore, the actual user of health care is not the purchaser of health care. And there's no market forces involved with health care. It's one of the reasons I'm a strong believer in what they call health savings accounts. These are accounts that allow somebody to buy a low-premium, high-deductible catastrophic plan and couple it with tax-free savings.

Reality Check:
The President is saying that health care costs are high because people will always choose the best, most expensive treatment when their insurance will cover the cost. While there's plenty of evidence that's true, the only way to lower costs that way is to force people to pay more of their own costs, which will force lower-income Americans to stop seeking treatment. Tax free health savings accounts are a popular idea, but many Americans are not saving enough to put money in them.

The Claim:
The Lewin Report accurately noted that there are going to be 20 million people — over 20 million people added to government-controlled health care [under Kerry's plan]. Be the largest increase in government health care ever.

Reality Check:
Bush implies that these people would be added to some new, big government program. In reality, the plan just makes more Americans eligible for Medicare, Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

The Claim:
In order to take pressure off the border, in order to make the borders more secure, I believe there ought to be a temporary worker card that allows a willing worker and a willing employer to mate up, so long as there's not an American willing to do the job, to join up in order to be able to fulfill the employer's needs. That has the benefit of making sure our employers aren't breaking the law as they try to fill their workforce needs.

Reality Check:
Americans don't take many of the jobs the President is referring to because employers prefer illegal immigrants who will work for below minimum wage and no benefits. Until there is a crackdown on illegal hiring, businesses will prefer low cost illegal workers.

The Claim:
What he's asking me is will I have a litmus test for my judges. And the answer is no, I will not have a litmus test. I will pick judges who will interpret the Constitution. But I'll have no litmus tests.

Reality Check:
What Bob Schieffer asked was whether the President would like to see Roe v. Wade overturned. As for judges, Bush says he does not ask judges where they stand on issues like abortion, but he has predominantly nominated judges whose past decisions support overturning abortion rights. He has also supported restrictions on abortions and prevented U.S. funding of international health care programs that mention abortion as an option.

The Claim:
I made my intentions, my views clear. I did think we ought to extend the assault-weapons ban and was told the fact that the bill wasn't ever going to move. Because the Republicans and Democrats were against the assault-weapon ban, people of both parties.

Reality Check:
Bush said he supported the assault weapons ban but did nothing to encourage Congress to renew it.




The Claim:
I have got a comprehensive strategy to not only chase down al-Qaeda wherever it exists — and we're making progress, three-quarters of al-Qaeda leaders have been brought to justice — but to make sure that countries who harbor terrorists are held to account.

Reality Check:
The CIA estimates that 75% of al-Qaeda's known leadership at the time of the September 11th Attacks has been killed or captured. The terrorist network has adapted, however, recruiting new leaders and gaining footholds in new countries. Some terrorism experts believe the president has been softer toward countries like Iran and Syria that are far more friendly to terrorists than Saddam Hussein's regime was.

The Claim:
I signed the Homeland Security Bill to better align our assets and resources. My opponent voted against it.

Reality Check:
Kerry voted against some provisions of the President's proposed Department of Homeland Security, but he voted for the final bill creating the department. The DHS was originally Joe Lieberman's proposal — the President solidly opposed it, but changed his mind after an onslaught of political pressure.

The Claim:
My opponent just this weekend talked about how terrorism can be reduced to a nuisance, comparing it to prostitution, illegal gambling. I think that attitude and that point of view is dangerous ... My opponent said this war is a matter of intelligence and law enforcement. No, this is a war as a matter of using every asset at our disposal to keep the American people protected.

Reality Check:
Kerry has repeatedly said that the military should be used to hunt down and destroy al-Qaeda, but that intelligence, law enforcement and diplomacy are key tools as well.

The Claim:
Gosh, I don't think I ever said I'm not worried about Osama bin Laden. That's kind of one of those exaggerations.

Reality Check:
At a March 13, 2002, press conference Bush said, "We haven't heard much from him ... And, again, I don't know where he is. I — I'll repeat what I said. I truly am not that concerned about him. I know he is on the run."

The Claim:
We have a problem with litigation in the United States of America. Vaccine manufacturers are worried about getting sued and so therefore they have backed off from providing this kind of vaccine.

Reality Check:
Lawsuits over vaccine side effects have raised liability costs for manufacturers and discouraged vaccine production. But there are several other reasons for the low number of vaccine producers. A big one is the low profits in the vaccine business. Flu vaccines take at least six months to produce, and often times, manufacturers don't know which strain of influenza will strike each year so they have to gamble on which type of vaccine to produce.

The Claim:
[Kerry's] proposed $2.2 trillion of new spending ... I proposed a detailed budget, Bob. I send up my budget man to the Congress and he says here's how we're going to reduce the deficit in half by five years, it requires pro-growth policies that grow our economy and fiscal sanity in the halls of Congress.

Reality Check:
Kerry's spending proposals are closer to $1.3 trillion. Bush's are closer to $2.2 trillion. The nonpartisan Concord Coalition estimates Mr. Bush's plan to make his tax cuts permanent, combined with new tax cuts and his domestic proposals, will add $1.32 trillion to the budget over the next decade. That does not include any increases in military spending and the President's proposal to create private social security accounts, which could cost at least $1 trillion more.

The Claim:
Health care costs are on the rise because the consumers are not involved in the decision-making process. Most health costs are covered by third parties. And therefore, the actual user of health care is not the purchaser of health care. And there's no market forces involved with health care. It's one of the reasons I'm a strong believer in what they call health savings accounts. These are accounts that allow somebody to buy a low-premium, high-deductible catastrophic plan and couple it with tax-free savings.

Reality Check:
The President is saying that health care costs are high because people will always choose the best, most expensive treatment when their insurance will cover the cost. While there's plenty of evidence that's true, the only way to lower costs that way is to force people to pay more of their own costs, which will force lower-income Americans to stop seeking treatment. Tax free health savings accounts are a popular idea, but many Americans are not saving enough to put money in them.

The Claim:
The Lewin Report accurately noted that there are going to be 20 million people — over 20 million people added to government-controlled health care [under Kerry's plan]. Be the largest increase in government health care ever.

Reality Check:
Bush implies that these people would be added to some new, big government program. In reality, the plan just makes more Americans eligible for Medicare, Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

The Claim:
In order to take pressure off the border, in order to make the borders more secure, I believe there ought to be a temporary worker card that allows a willing worker and a willing employer to mate up, so long as there's not an American willing to do the job, to join up in order to be able to fulfill the employer's needs. That has the benefit of making sure our employers aren't breaking the law as they try to fill their workforce needs.

Reality Check:
Americans don't take many of the jobs the President is referring to because employers prefer illegal immigrants who will work for below minimum wage and no benefits. Until there is a crackdown on illegal hiring, businesses will prefer low cost illegal workers.

The Claim:
What he's asking me is will I have a litmus test for my judges. And the answer is no, I will not have a litmus test. I will pick judges who will interpret the Constitution. But I'll have no litmus tests.

Reality Check:
What Bob Schieffer asked was whether the President would like to see Roe v. Wade overturned. As for judges, Bush says he does not ask judges where they stand on issues like abortion, but he has predominantly nominated judges whose past decisions support overturning abortion rights. He has also supported restrictions on abortions and prevented U.S. funding of international health care programs that mention abortion as an option.

The Claim:
I made my intentions, my views clear. I did think we ought to extend the assault-weapons ban and was told the fact that the bill wasn't ever going to move. Because the Republicans and Democrats were against the assault-weapon ban, people of both parties.

Reality Check:
Bush said he supported the assault weapons ban but did nothing to encourage Congress to renew it.
www.time.com/time/election2004/article/0,18471,723159,00.html