Did Obama really call for redistributing wealth?

The Statement

At a campaign event Thursday, October 30, in Defiance, Ohio, Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain said, "So we finally learned what Senator Obama's goals are … to spread the wealth. In a radio interview revealed this week, he said the same thing, that one of the — quote — tragedies of the civil rights movement is that it didn't bring about redistributive change. You see, Senator Obama believes in redistributing wealth and income, not in policies that grow our economy and create jobs."

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The Statement
Speaking at a campaign event Sunday. Nov. 2, in Columbus, Ohio, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama criticized the rhetoric of his Republican opponents. "Despite what our opponents may claim, there are no real or fake parts of this country," he said. "There is no city or town that is more pro-America than anywhere else — we are one nation, all of us proud, all of us patriots."

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Was McCain the 'biggest cheerleader' for launching the war in Iraq?.

The Statement:
At a rally Sunday, Nov. 2, in Columbus, Ohio, Sen. Barack Obama cited Sen. John McCain's "endorsement" from Vice President Dick Cheney. "He worked hard for it," Obama joked, pointing to McCain's support for the vast majority of the Bush administration's policies. And, Obama added, "He had to serve as Washington's biggest cheerleader for going to war in Iraq."

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McCain has pushed for more nuclear power – and claimed Obama is completely opposed to it.

The Statement: Sen. John McCain, speaking at a rally in Newport News, Virginia, on November 1, touted his energy plan and said, "We'll invest in all energy alternatives, wind, solar, tide and safe nuclear power." Then he said, "You know, Senator Obama doesn't think that nuclear power is safe."

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The Obama-Biden campaign released an ad called Rear View on Thursday.

The Statement: In a television ad titled "Rear View," that began airing Thursday, October 30, the campaign for Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama attacks Republican opponent Sen. John McCain's economic policies, saying, in part, that McCain "would tax your health care benefits for the first time ever."

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Is Obama right about McCain's tax plan?

The Statement:
At a rally Thursday, October 30, in Columbia, Missouri, Sen. Barack Obama said, "The choice in this election isn't between tax cuts and no tax cuts, it's whether you believe we should only reward wealth or whether we should also reward work and the workers who create it."

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The Statement
Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, in an interview October 31 on ABC's "Good Morning America," praised his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, saying in part that she has "more experience than Senator Biden and Senator Obama put together."

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The Statement
The campaign of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, on Wednesday, October 29, responded to Republican opponent Sen. John McCain criticism of Obama's relationship with Rashid Khalidi, an Arab studies professor at Columbia University, by suggesting that McCain also had a link to Khalidi. It said, "John McCain should answer why, under his own chairmanship, the International Republican Institute repeatedly funded an organization Khalidi founded, the Center for Palestine Research and Studies, over the course of many years."

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Would Obama’s plan really cost the country jobs?

The Statement

In a news release Thursday, October 30, responding to news that the U.S. gross domestic product fell in the third quarter of this year, the campaign for Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain criticized Democratic opponent Sen. Barack Obama's tax proposals. "According to the independent Center for Data Analysis, Barack Obama's new policies will destroy nearly 6 million jobs over the next decade," the release said.

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Does Obama's 'tax calculator' show what an individual's tax cut would be?

The Statement: On its Web site and in a television commercial, the campaign of Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama is featuring a "tax calculator" that the campaign says voters can use to see how much their tax cut would be under Obama's plan.

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Get the facts about Gov. Palin's statements Wednesday.

The Statement: Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, speaking on Oct. 29 in Bowling Green, Ohio, said Barack Obama "spent a lot of time with" Rashid Khalidi. "Rashid Khalidi, he, in addition to being a political ally of Barack Obama, he's a former spokesperson for the Palestinian Liberation Organization," she said.

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What have Obama and Biden said about their tax cuts?'

The Statement

In a campaign speech Tuesday, October 28, in Hershey, Pennsylvania, Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain accused Democratic opponent Sen. Barack Obama and his running mate, Sen. Joe Biden, of being inconsistent on taxes.

"Senator Obama has made a lot of promises. First he said people making less than $250,000 would benefit from his plan. Then this weekend he announced in an ad that if you're a family making less than $200,000, you'll benefit," McCain said. "But yesterday, right here in Pennsylvania, Senator Biden said tax relief should only go to middle class people, people making under $150,000 a year …. It's interesting how their definition of rich has a way of creeping down."

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What are the facts about McCain's tax cuts?

The Statement:
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, speaking in Canton, Ohio, on October 27, referred to Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain's tax plans and said, "It's not change when he wants to give $200 billion to the biggest corporations or $4 billion to the oil companies."

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What did Joe the Plumber say about Obama's tax plans?

The Statement:
Vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, speaking at an October 27 rally in Leesburg, Virginia, referred to Barack Obama's October 12 conversation about tax policy with Samuel J. Wurzelbacher, the citizen now known as "Joe the Plumber." She said Obama said he "wants to spread the wealth" and that "Joe the Plumber said to him, it sounded like socialism."

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Sen. McCain spoke in Sarasota, Florida Friday.

Note: The McCain campaign says Sen. John McCain has been delivering his closing argument “every day for the past week.” The CNN Truth Squad looked at Obama’s "closing argument" speech and one McCain delivered Friday, October 23, in Sarasota, Florida.  To help sort out the reality from the rhetoric, a transcript of the speech is reproduced in full below with links to related Fact Checks from the CNN Truth Squad.

. . . .

You know, my friends, we've heard a lot of words over the course of this election. After months of campaign trail eloquence we'vefinally learned what Senator Obama's economic goal is. As he told Joe the plumber up in Ohio, he wants to spread the wealth around.

He believes in redistributing in wealth, not in policies that grow our economy and create jobs and opportunities for all Americans. Senator Obama is more interested in controlling who gets your piece of pie than he is growing the pie.

Senator Obama may say he's trying to soak the rich but it's themiddle class who are going to get wet.

You know a lot of his promised tax increases miss the target. Pay for nearly a trillion dollars of new government spending, his tax increase would impact 50 percent of small business income in this America and the jobs of 16 million middle class Americans who work for those small businesses.

So I ask our small business people to raise your hands so we can thank you. Thank you, Joe the doctor, Joe the plumber, the car dealer, thank you all.

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Sen. Obama gave what his campaign calls his closing argument of his presidential bid during a speech in Canton, Ohio Monday.

Note: On Monday, October 27, Sen. Barack Obama delivered what his campaign called a “closing argument speech” in Canton, Ohio. The CNN Truth Squad looked at Obama’s "closing argument" speech and one McCain delivered Friday, October 23, in Sarasota, Florida.  To help sort out the reality from the rhetoric, a transcript of the speech is reproduced in full below with links to related Fact Checks from the CNN Truth Squad.

. . . .

After decades of broken politics in Washington, eight years of failed policies from George Bush, and twenty-one months of a campaign that has taken us from the rocky coast of Maine to the sunshine of California, we are one week away from change in America.

In one week, you can turn the page on policies that have put the greed and irresponsibility of Wall Street before the hard work and sacrifice of folks on Main Street.

In one week, you can choose policies that invest in our middle-class, create new jobs, and grow this economy from the bottom-up so that everyone has a chance to succeed; from the CEO to the secretary and the janitor; from the factory owner to the men and women who work on its floor.

In one week, you can put an end to the politics that would divide a nation just to win an election; that tries to pit region against region, city against town, Republican against Democrat; that asks us to fear at a time when we need hope.

In one week, at this defining moment in history, you can give this country the change we need.

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Did Gov. Palin veto a half-billion dollars in spending?.

The Statement
Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, speaking October 27 at a rally in Leesburg, Virginia, said that, acting as Alaska's governor, "I put the veto pen to nearly half a billion dollars in wasteful spending."

Watch: Palin and budget cuts
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Has McCain called for less regulation 21 times this year?.

The Statement
At a campaign appearance Monday, October 27, in Dayton, Ohio, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama repeated his assertion that his Republican opponent, Sen. John McCain, supported deregulation that Obama argues helped lead to this year's financial collapse. "When it comes to the economy, when it comes to the central issue of our time — the central issue of this election — the plain truth is that John McCain has stood with this president every step of the way … calling for less regulation 21 times just this year — those are the facts."

Watch: McCain's votes on regulation
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The Statement:
During a speech Friday, Oct. 24, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Gov. Sarah Palin noted that parents of children with special needs often set up trusts to help ensure long-term assistance. "Many families with special needs children or dependent adults" are concerned that Sen. Barack Obama "plans to raise taxes on precisely these kinds of financial arrangements," she said. "They fear that Senator Obama's tax increase will have serious and harmful consequences, and they're right."

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The Statement: Speaking at a campaign event Saturday, Oct. 25, in Reno, Nevada, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama described elements of his tax plan and said, "Under my plan tax rates will actually be less than they were under Ronald Reagan." He made the same statement earlier in the week at campaign events in Richmond, Virginia, and Miami and Tampa, Florida.

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