The John McCain file

John McCain is a U.S. senator from Arizona, a post he has held since 1986. He previously served two terms in the U.S. House. McCain is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and spent his career in the military, as his father did. He was a combat pilot in Vietnam who was shot down and spent 5 1/2 years as a prisonor of war. He was born in 1936 in Panama. He and his wife, Cindy, have four children together. McCain also has three children from his first marriage. Full Story »

Posted by Fabrice Florin

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Review

Kristin Gorski
3.8
by Kristin Gorski - Oct. 1, 2008

The St. Petersburg Times has a "Truth-o-meter" for McCain, Obama and Clinton. It takes statements candidates make and then ranks them on a 6-point scale: true, mostly true, half true, barely true, false, and "pants on fire" (which is just flat-out lying). It is an interesting format of taking precisely what a candidate said, usually just a short sentence, and picking it apart for facts and tone to see where it falls on the scale. Rankings are backed up by pretty lengthy explanations, which also include sources. If you've ever wondered if what the candidates are saying is true, this is a good scorecard-type format. There is a lot of info here: a bit dizzying. You get the sense that candidates say a lot of half-true things, but if no one picks up on the lies, no one will ever know.

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Kristin's Rating

Overall
3.8

Good
from 6 answers
Quality
3.7
Fairness
5.0
Information
4.0
Sourcing
5.0
Context
2.0
Popularity
4.0
Recommendation
4.0
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