Editor's Note: PolitiFact.com is a project of the St. Petersburg Times that aims to help you find the truth in politics. Every day, reporters and researchers from the Times examine statements by members of Congress, the president, etc. They research their statements and then rate the accuracy on their Truth-O-Meter.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs fires back at Cheney over troop levels in Afghanistan
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/10/26/gibbs.robert.gi.art.jpg caption="White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs fired back at former Vice President Dick Cheney over troop levels in Afghanistan."]
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs fired back at former Vice President Dick Cheney the day after Cheney said President Obama "seems afraid to make a decision" about a general's public plea for 40,000 more U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
"The White House must stop dithering while America's armed forces are in danger," Cheney said in a speech at the Center for Security Policy on Oct. 21.
In his daily press briefing the next day, Gibbs said Cheney's comments were "curious" given that "the vice president was for seven years not focused on Afghanistan."
And, Gibbs said, the comments were "even more curious given the fact that (a request for) an increase in troops sat on desks in this White House, including the vice president's, for more than eight months, a resource request filled by President Obama in March."
Gibbs is referring here to a request for additional troops made by the previous top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. David McKiernan, during President George W. Bush's final year in office.
The Truth-O-Meter says: TRUE
Read more: Gen. McKiernan wanted more troops for Afghanistan
Cheney accuses Obama of telling allies of canceled projects in "midnight" calls
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/10/26/cheney.dick.art.jpg caption="Former Vice President Dick Cheney rapped the White House for sloppy diplomacy in its decision to cancel a planned missile defense radar in the Czech Republic"]
Former Vice President Dick Cheney made news on Oct. 21, 2009, when he accused the White House of "dithering while America's armed forces are in danger" in Afghanistan. That was just one of many fireballs he lobbed at the Obama administration’s policies with Iran, Iraq and the interrogation of suspected terrorists.
Cheney also rapped the White House for sloppy diplomacy in its decision to cancel a planned missile-defense radar in the Czech Republic and planned missile interceptors in Poland. The administration decided that the facilities were designed with a less-severe threat – long range missiles – in mind, and that missile-defense efforts should instead be focused on countering short- and medium-range missiles.
Work on the missile-defense facilities – which had prompted strenuous opposition from Russia and mixed feelings by residents of the two Eastern European countries – was conceived during the tenure of Cheney and President George W. Bush. So Cheney’s opposition to Obama’s canceling the project was not surprising.
The Truth-O-Meter says: TRUE
Read more: Yes, late-night calls
Crist makes a misleading claim about a Florida health care plan
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/10/26/crist.charlie.gi.art.jpg caption="Florida Gov. Charlie Crist boasted about Cover Florida Health Care in a recent Fox News interview."]
In a recent Fox News interview, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist boasted about Cover Florida Health Care, an effort to provide low-cost health care coverage to the nearly 4 million uninsured in the state.
"There are no government mandates to it, no tax dollars utilized for it," Crist said on Oct. 21, 2009. "Just good, aggressive negotiating by our administration with health insurance companies. ... And, really, the problem with health care is that it's expensive. And so what we've attempted to do is reduce the cost by reducing the expense and the premium of health insurance, and we've had success doing so. Usually it's about $900 a month to get health coverage. We've reduced that, on average, to about $150 a month."
Given all the debate over the high cost of health care, we wondered if the Florida plan could be as inexpensive as Crist claims. We found he was distorting the savings by mixing apples and oranges.
The Truth-O-Meter says: FALSE
