Fact Check: Obama's Biggest Truths and Burning Lies

BET.com fact-checks President Obama.

Keeping the Candidates Honest - BET.com fact-checks President Obama. –Britt Middleton

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Keeping the Candidates Honest - BET.com fact-checks President Obama. –Britt Middleton

Afghanistan - Obama announced in his state of the union address plans to reduce by half the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan over the next year and an end to the war by the end of 2014. (Photo: REUTERS/Baz Ratner)

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Claim: Romney Wants to Add $2 Trillion to Defense Budget - True: Mitt Romney has said he plans to add $2 trillion to the defense budget, even though the military hasn't requested it, thus supporting Obama's claim made during their third and final debate. Romney said he would pay for the increase by repealing Obamacare and restricting Medicaid.  (Photo: REUTERS/BAZ RATNER/LANDOV)

Barack Obama - "I don’t look at my pension. It's not as big as yours so it doesn't take as long," Obama told Romney during their second debate on Oct. 17. (Photo: AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

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Claim: Obama Says Romney Wants $5 Trillion Tax Cut - False: In their first debate, the president accused Romney of proposing a $5 trillion tax cut, but as Factcheck.org points out, "Romney has proposed cutting personal federal income tax rates across the board by 20 percent, in addition to extending the tax cuts enacted early in the Bush administration." Romney has also said his rate cuts and tax eliminations would be offset and the deficit wouldn’t increase. (Photo: AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Claim: Romney and Ryan Backed Laws Outlawing Abortion  - Mostly True: The Obama campaign attacked Romney's changing position on abortion in a recent TV ad stating that both Romney and running mate Paul Ryan had "backed proposals that would outlaw abortions even in cases of rape or incest." That claim is true for Ryan, but Romney has distanced himself from more restrictive legislation and says he supports abortion to save the life of the mother or in cases of rape or incest. (Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

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Claim: Romney and Ryan Backed Laws Outlawing Abortion  - Mostly True: The Obama campaign attacked Romney's changing position on abortion in a recent TV ad stating that both Romney and running mate Paul Ryan had "backed proposals that would outlaw abortions even in cases of rape or incest." That claim is true for Ryan, but Romney has distanced himself from more restrictive legislation and says he supports abortion to save the life of the mother or in cases of rape or incest. (Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Claim: Tax Rates for the Wealthy Won't Exceed 1993 Levels  - False: Obama will allow the Bush tax cuts to expire, but claimed in the first debate that Americans with household income more than $250,000 wouldn't pay a rate higher than 39.6 percent, the same levels set by President Bill Clinton 1993. In truth, "those Americans would actually end up paying more than they did then because of new taxes under Obamacare," Factcheck.org writes. (Photo: Michael Smith/Newsmakers)

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Claim: Tax Rates for the Wealthy Won't Exceed 1993 Levels  - False: Obama will allow the Bush tax cuts to expire, but claimed in the first debate that Americans with household income more than $250,000 wouldn't pay a rate higher than 39.6 percent, the same levels set by President Bill Clinton 1993. In truth, "those Americans would actually end up paying more than they did then because of new taxes under Obamacare," Factcheck.org writes. (Photo: Michael Smith/Newsmakers)

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Claim: Romney "Would Turn Medicare Into a Voucher Program." - Mostly True: Fact-checkers say Obama's voucher claim is a reasonable way to describe the Romney-Ryan plan, which allows beneficiaries "the choice of receiving a fixed subsidy from the federal government that could go toward a private insurance plan or a plan similar to traditional Medicare," Politifact.com writes. It isn't clear whether the premium plan would cover the same benefits as traditional Medicare.  (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

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Claim: Romney "Would Turn Medicare Into a Voucher Program." - Mostly True: Fact-checkers say Obama's voucher claim is a reasonable way to describe the Romney-Ryan plan, which allows beneficiaries "the choice of receiving a fixed subsidy from the federal government that could go toward a private insurance plan or a plan similar to traditional Medicare," Politifact.com writes. It isn't clear whether the premium plan would cover the same benefits as traditional Medicare.  (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

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Claim: Mitt Romney Fully Endorsed Arizona Immigration Law - False: President Obama claimed in the second debate that Romney once called Arizona's controversial immigration law S.B. 1070 "a model for the nation." In reality, Romney said he supported the state's E-Verify mandate, allowing employers to electronically verify a person's legal status, which was passed as part of a separate state law in 2007.  (Photo: AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

Claim: As Governor, Mitt Romney Had “One of the Worst Economic Records in the Country.” - False: According to Factcheck.org, a campaign ad arguing that Romney had "one of the worst economic records in the country" as governor of Massachusetts was on the whole misleading. For example, the ad stated that Massachusetts averaged  47th in the country for job creation during his four-year tenure, disregarding that the state was ranked 50th before he took office and 28th in his final year. (Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

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Claim: As Governor, Mitt Romney Had “One of the Worst Economic Records in the Country.” - False: According to Factcheck.org, a campaign ad arguing that Romney had "one of the worst economic records in the country" as governor of Massachusetts was on the whole misleading. For example, the ad stated that Massachusetts averaged  47th in the country for job creation during his four-year tenure, disregarding that the state was ranked 50th before he took office and 28th in his final year. (Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Claim: Tax Loopholes Encourage Companies to Outsource Jobs   - True: In their first debate, Romney denied Obama's claim that there are tax "loopholes that are giving incentives for companies that are shipping jobs overseas." Politifact.com writes: "Independent analysts agree that firms with international operations can take advantage of tax loopholes that domestic firms cannot. Such tax laws might not be the deciding factor for companies to locate in foreign countries, but they make that choice more lucrative." (Photo: David McNew/Getty Images)

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Claim: Tax Loopholes Encourage Companies to Outsource Jobs   - True: In their first debate, Romney denied Obama's claim that there are tax "loopholes that are giving incentives for companies that are shipping jobs overseas." Politifact.com writes: "Independent analysts agree that firms with international operations can take advantage of tax loopholes that domestic firms cannot. Such tax laws might not be the deciding factor for companies to locate in foreign countries, but they make that choice more lucrative." (Photo: David McNew/Getty Images)

Claim: Romney Supports Employer's Moral Decisions Regarding Birth Control - True: President Obama accused Mitt Romney of supporting an employer's decision "whether or not a woman gets contraception through her insurance coverage" in their second debate, which fact-checkers back-up. "His support for the Blunt amendment endorses the approach that employers should be able to make the decision about whether contraception is covered by employees’ insurance," Politifact.com writes. (Photo: AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

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Claim: Romney Supports Employer's Moral Decisions Regarding Birth Control - True: President Obama accused Mitt Romney of supporting an employer's decision "whether or not a woman gets contraception through her insurance coverage" in their second debate, which fact-checkers back-up. "His support for the Blunt amendment endorses the approach that employers should be able to make the decision about whether contraception is covered by employees’ insurance," Politifact.com writes. (Photo: AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Taxes, Not So Much - What are American voters' top items on any president's to-do list? Creating good jobs, reducing federal government corruption and lowering the federal deficit are extremely important to 48, 45 and 44 percent of Americans, according to a Gallup poll published July 30. Environmental concerns like global warming and increasing taxes on the wealthy bottomed the list, each at 21 percent. (Photo: Tim Boyle/Getty Images)

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Claim: Mitt Romney Paid Less Taxes Than You - False: An Obama campaign ad charged that Romney "made $20 million dollars in 2010, but paid only 14 percent in taxes — probably less than you," but fact-checkers say that's not telling the whole story. “If you look at income taxes only, Obama’s statement is not true for most Americans. If you add in payroll taxes, however, it is probably true for lots of people,” Eric Toder, co-director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, told Factcheck.org. (Photo: Tim Boyle/Getty Images)