I Hate What You Just Said

The AP’s supergenius, Darlene Superville, decided to do us all the public service of “fact-checking” some of the speeches at last night’s Democratic convention:

The shotgun-style charges Democratic National Convention speakers fired at Republican John McCain Tuesday night weren’t necessarily half-truths. But in some instances, they weren’t the whole story either.

Some examples of who said what and what they left out:

SEN. ROBERT CASEY JR. of PENNSYLVANIA: “John McCain calls himself a maverick, but he votes with George Bush 90 percent of the time. That’s not a maverick. That’s a sidekick.”

PENNSYLVANIA GOV. ED RENDELL: “And guess who voted with President Bush 90 percent of the time? Sen. John McCain.”

THE FACTS: McCain voted with President Bush 90 percent of the time from January 20, 2001, to when Congress left Washington on its annual August recess, according to a study by Congressional Quarterly. But McCain wasn’t always a staunch Bush backer. In 2005, his support for Bush’s position on legislation reached a low of 77 percent; last year, when he launched his latest bid for the GOP presidential nomination, he voted with Bush 95 percent of the time.

So let’s get this straight. Looking at the total votes cast by John McCain since George Bush took office in 2001, he has — on average — voted with the president 90 percent of the time. But WAIT! If you only look at 2005, these statements aren’t true — Casey and Rendell are LIARS! Sorry, but those are THE FACTS.

I don’t want to get all Orwell on this, but what the hell does it mean when you say that these “shotgun-style” charges “weren’t necessarily half-truths” but “in some instances, they weren’t the whole story either”?

I spent about 15 agonizing minutes dividing “not the whole story” by a “not necessarily half-truth” to determine the percentage. I still don’t know.

I hate you Darlene.

h/t TPM