Media Matters Daily Summary 08-02-10

Doocy falsely claims Obama broke promise on border troops
Steve Doocy falsely claimed that Obama "promised 1200 National Guard troops would be at the border by August 1st" and suggested Obama may "wait until November just in time for those midterm elections." In fact, the National Guard announced on July 19 that the troops would "begin deploying" by August 1 and that "All 1,200 troops should be on the ground by September." Read More

McCarthy's book a collection of recycled Obama "Islamist" smears
In his book The Grand Jihad, Andrew McCarthy invokes numerous smears, myths, and falsehoods to portray President Obama as an "Islamist." Read More

Fox News' Scott rehashes bogus claims about Obama's West Point speech
On Happening Now, Jon Scott claimed that, in his West Point speech last year, Obama never "used the term 'victory' or ...'we're going to defeat the enemy in Afghanistan.'" In fact, Obama repeatedly referred to "defeating al Qaeda" and achieving a "successful" end to the war in that speech and in other remarks. Read More

Wash. Post hides the holes in Rep. Ryan's proposed budget
In two August 2 articles, The Washington Post highlighted the purported deficit-reducing effects of Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-WI) economic "roadmap," in one piece misleadingly reporting the Congressional Budget Office's (CBO) "estimate" of his "plan." However, at Ryan's instruction, CBO did not analyze significant tax changes found in his proposal that would likely reduce revenues CBO assumed would be collected. Read More

EXCLUSIVE: House administration committee staff rebuts Fox suggestion that Grayson DVD violates ethics rules
Fox & Friends baselessly suggested that Rep. Alan Grayson's (D-FL) mailing of a DVD to his constituents constituted an "ethics violation." In fact, a spokesman for the committee that oversees the approval of such mailings told Media Matters that Grayson's DVD had been vetted and that the mailing was "not a violation" of House ethics rules. Read More

Kelly complains about use of "taxpayer dollars" on HCR ad, forgets Bush spent $12.6 million on ads
Megyn Kelly complained that a television commercial promoting health care reform was paid for with "taxpayer dollars." In fact, such expenditures are hardly unusual; indeed, the Bush administration spent far more money on similar ads to promote its prescription drug plan. Read More

Hayes retells myth that Reagan ended recession with tax cuts
Stephen Hayes criticized the Obama administration's response to the recession by reviving the myth that President Reagan ended the 1981 recession by cutting taxes. In fact, economists have said that the recession was ended under Reagan primarily due to federal interest rate cuts. Read More