Romney Campaign Press Release - What To Watch For: Biden's Favorite Lies And Exaggerations

"I Don't Want To Say Anything In The Debate That's Not Completely Accurate." — Vice President Joe Biden, October 4, 2012

NUMBER 1: Vice President Biden Will Claim Mitt Romney Supports A $5 Trillion Tax Cut — A Claim Refuted By Fact Checkers And Even The Obama Campaign:

Vice President Biden: "A Plan That Cost $5 Trillion In Tax Cuts." BIDEN: "The centerpiece of their economic plan was giving what they call the 'job creators' a bigger tax break, right? And they had a plan that cost $5 trillion in tax cuts." (Vice President Joe Biden, Remarks, Council Bluffs, IA, 10/4/12)

Obama Deputy Campaign Manager Stephanie Cutter: "Okay, Stipulated, It Won't Be Near $5 Trillion..." BURNETT: "Right. So you're saying if you lower them by 20% you get a $5 trillion tab, right?" CUTTER: "It's a $5 trillion tab."  BURNETT: "But then when you close deductions it's not going to be anywhere near $5 trillion. That's our analysis." CUTTER: "Well, okay, stipulated, it won't be near $5 trillion, but it's also not going to be the sum of $5 trillion in the loopholes that he's going to close." (CNN, 10/4/12)

FactCheck.org: "Obama Accused Romney Of Proposing A $5 Trillion Tax Cut. Not True." "Obama accused Romney of proposing a $5 trillion tax cut. Not true. Romney proposes to offset his rate cuts and promises he won't add to the deficit." (Brooks Jackson, "Dubious Denver Debate Declarations." FactCheck.org, 10/4/12)

ABC's Jon Karl, On President Obama's $5 Trillion Claim: "Mostly Fiction." KARL: "Okay, so, the big thing there, and he came back to it several times, is Governor Romney has a $5 trillion tax cut plan. I rate that mostly fiction." (ABC's "Your Voice: 2012Presidential Debates," 10/3/12)

The Associated Press: "Obama's Claim That Romney Wants To Cut Taxes By $5 Trillion Doesn't Add Up." "Obama's claim that Romney wants to cut taxes by $5 trillion doesn't add up. Presumably, Obama was talking about the effect of Romney's tax plan over 10 years, which is common in Washington. But Obama's math doesn't take into account Romney's entire plan." (Calvin Woodward, "FACT CHECK: Presidential Debate Missteps," The Associated Press, 10/3/12)

NUMBER 2: Vice President Biden Will Falsely Imply Mitt Romney Has A Medicare Plan That Increases Costs For Seniors By $6,400:

Vice President Biden: "That Plan Would Cost Seniors Out-Of-Pocket -- The Average Senior $6,400 A Year..." BIDEN: "And they say -- and if you want to -- if you want to buy back into Medicare, you can do that -- except the first plan they introduced, in fact, the so-called CBO -- the sort of arbiter, the Congressional Budget Office -- they said that plan would cost seniors out-of-pocket -- the average senior $6,400 a year -- (jeers) -- a year more for the same exact Medicare people are getting now." (Vice President Joe Biden, Remarks, Charlotte, NC, 10/2/12)

The Washington Post's Fact Checker: "An Outdated Estimate Of An Earlier Version Of The Plan..." "But he still clung to an outdated estimate of an earlier version of the plan, claiming it will cost seniors an extra $6,000 a year. (He had previously earned Two Pinocchios for this claim.) The problem is this dollar figure—usually expressed as $6,400--is an estimate for an earlier version of Ryan's plan. He's since changed it significantly to address some of the loudest complaints. The new version of the plan includes the option for traditional Medicare, as well as a commitment that at least one health-care option would be fully covered by the government." (Glenn Kessler, "Factchecking The First Presidential Debate Of 2012," The Washington Post, 10/4/12)

•         The Washington Post: "It's Only An Estimate" And Based On An "Earlier Version" For Medicare Reforms. "But there are some problems with that figure. First of all, it's only an estimate. Second of all, it's for the year 2022. But a bigger problem is that this dollar figure is an estimate for an earlier version of Ryan's plan. He's since changed it significantly to address some of the loudest complaints." (Glenn Kessler, "Factcheck: Sebelius' $6,400 Number Has Issues," The Washington Post, 9/4/12)

FactCheck.org: "The Ryan Plan, Now The Romney-Ryan Plan, Doesn't 'End Medicare,' And The Claim About Seniors Paying $6,000 More Under The Proposal Is Outdated." (Lori Robertson, "A Campaign Full Of Mediscare," FactCheck.org, 8/22/12)

The Washington Post Headline: "No, Romney-Ryan Wouldn't Increase Medicare Costs By $6,400" (Sarah Kliff, "No, Romney-Ryan Wouldn't Increase Medicare Costs By $6,400," The Washington Post's "WonkBlog," 9/4/12)

Even Vice President Biden Has Acknowledged The Figure Is Based On An Outdated Analysis And Different Medicare Plan. "Not long after Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz told seniors at Century Village of Boca Raton they could be socked with $6,300 a year in higher Medicare costs under Mitt Romney, Vice President Joe Biden acknowledged the figure is based on an analysis of an outdated plan. But Biden argued it's fair for Democrats to keep using the number, anyway." (George Bennett, "Biden OK With Democrats Citing Outdated Number To Fault Romney On Health Care," Palm Beach Post, 9/30/12)

NUMBER 3: Vice President Biden Will Pretend To Have A $4 Trillion Deficit-Reduction Plan:

Vice President Biden: "We Laid Out A $4 Trillion Debt-Reduction Plan..." BIDEN: "Here's the deal, folks. We laid out a $4 trillion debt-reduction plan over the next 10 years -- $4 trillion." (Vice President Joe Biden, Remarks, Fort Myers, FL, 9/29/12)

The Washington Post's Fact Checker: "The Repeated Claim That Obama's Budget Reduces The Deficit By $4 Trillion Is Simply Not Accurate. ... Virtually No Serious Budget Analyst Agreed With This Accounting." (Glenn Kessler, "Fact Checking Bill Clinton's Speech And Other Democrats At The Convention In Charlotte," The Washington Post, 9/6/12)

•         "In Effect, Most Of Obama's Claimed Deficit Reduction Comes From His Proposed Tax Increases." "There are a number of other games being played, so fake money is being used to pay for real spending projects. In effect, most of Obama's claimed deficit reduction comes from his proposed tax increases." (Glenn Kessler, "Fact Checking Bill Clinton's Speech And Other Democrats At The Convention In Charlotte," The Washington Post, 9/6/12)

Co-Chairs Of President Obama's Fiscal Commission Erskine Bowles And Alan Simpson, On Obama's $4 Trillion Target: "Unfortunately, His Proposal Falls Short Of This Goal ..." "We are encouraged that President Obama has embraced the goal of stabilizing the debt and the target of achieving at least $4 trillion in deficit reduction. Unfortunately, his proposal falls short of this goal by counting war savings that were already planned; and while it does (barely) stabilize the debt, it does so at a dangerously high level and with no margin for error. We are disappointed, too, that the president did not address the long-term solvency of Social Security." (Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles, Op-Ed, "Go Big, Be Bold, Be Smart," The Washington Post, 10/2/11)

NUMBER 4: Vice President Biden Will Falsely Claim The Obama Administration Has Not Raised Taxes On The Middle Class:

Vice President Biden: "They're Saying We Raised Taxes On The Middle Class ... None Of Which Is True." BIDEN: "They're saying we raised taxes on the middle class and we're going to raise more taxes on the middle class, none of which is true. We've cut taxes for the middle class a total of $3,600 a year." (Vice President Joe Biden, Remarks, Council Bluffs, IA, 10/4/12)

President Obama Raised Taxes On Nearly 5 Million Middle-Class Americans In Obamacare. ("Payments Of Penalties For Being Uninsured Under The Affordable Care Act," Congressional Budget Office, 9/12)

•         An Analysis By The Congressional Budget Office Found That "Nearly 80 Percent Of Those Who'll Face" Obamacare's Mandate Tax Are In The Middle Class. "Nonetheless, in his first campaign for the White House, Obama pledged not to raise taxes on individuals making less than $200,000 a year and couples making less than $250,000. And the budget office analysis found that nearly 80 percent of those who'll face the penalty would be making up to or less than five times the federal poverty level." ("Tax Penalty To Hit Nearly 6M Uninsured People," The Associated Press, 9/19/12)

American Enterprise Institute Has Calculated That The Annual Cost Of President Obama's Current And Looming Debt Burden Amounts To $4,000 Per Year In Higher Taxes On The Middle Class. "In a new paper, AEI's Matt Jensen looks at the real annual cost of servicing the debt for households at various levels of income — including a potentially higher tax burden. As the table below illustrates, a household making between $100,000 and $200,000 a year could find its tax liability higher by roughly $2,400 every year. Over ten years, that works out to $24,000. And when you add in the debt already accrued the past four years under President Obama (the second table), that's another $1,600 a year. So now we are now talking about $4,000 a year, $40,000 over ten years." (James Pethokoukis, "Study: Obama's Big Budget Deficits Could Mean A $4,000 A Year Middle-Class Tax Hike," American Enterprise Institute, 10/2/12)