The VP debate: Who told the biggest whoppers?
- Biden: We didn’t know they need more security in Benghazi
The verdict: “Mostly false”
In the wake of the deadly attack on a U.S. consulate in Libya, “we can’t say whether requests for more security — which were denied — reached the top,” says FactCheck.org. But we know they made it to the State Department. In a congressional oversight committee hearing this week, Eric Nordstrom, a former top security official in Libya, testified that he had asked for more security in Benghazi, but was rebuffed so flatly that it was “abundantly clear we were not going to get resources until the aftermath of an incident.” Charlene R. Lamb, a deputy assistant secretary of State for diplomatic security, testified that she refused the request because the department’s strategy was to train Libyans to protect the compound.
- Ryan: It took weeks for Obama to call the attack terrorism
The verdict: “Mostly false”
Obama called the assault, which killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans, “an act of terror” on Sept. 12, the day after it happened. Still, White House spokesman Jay Carney, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice, and other administration officials continued for days to describe the incident as part of a wave of protests provoked by an anti-Islam video.
- Biden: Romney wanted to let Detroit go bankrupt
The verdict: “Half-true”
Biden’s wording came from an opinion article Romney wrote in The New York Times that ran under the headline “Let Detroit Go Bankrupt,” but “his point was never that he wanted the auto industry to go down the tubes,” says The Associated Press. He advocated General Motors and Chrysler going through a “managed bankruptcy,” in which they could discharge their debts and emerge “leaner” companies. GM and Chrysler did go through bankruptcy, and received $80 billion in federal assistance from the Bush and Obama administrations. Romney wanted them to use private money instead of government funds, even though independent analysts say that in 2008’s “frozen” credit markets, private funding “was not a viable option.”
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