Factual, consistent, verified -- a solid report. It thoroughly vets a statement from a public official, and at the same time gives a realistic impression of how we might expect Joe Biden to act when confronted with similar issues in the future.

This story gives interesting Congressional history regarding the events immediately before the Gulf War commenced, but the facts laid out with considerable care obviously do not support the conclusion, that Joe Biden lacks the stamina to deal with difficult foreign policy issues. In my view, only a fool would see Biden as a pushover. Perhaps the writer wanted to play up the phoney "tough guy" image John McCain tries to project.

The St. Petersburg Times has built a good reputation and widespread readership as a result of its fact-checking operation. It gets quoted on the cable news networks regularly, and its representatives are frequently interviewed on opinion shows. This piece does an excellent job of reporting the facts and then explaining the background to the vote that resulted in the first Gulf War. Too bad there aren't more such operations.

This is terrible journalism, in which the author has confused the issues with the facts. Biden did indeed vote against Iraq I and II, under both Bushes. This does not mean Biden lacks the backbone to stand up to our foes, simply that he prefers alternative solutions (like economic sanctions and world opinion) first. Both Graham and PolitiFact's editors need to forgo Republican warmongering and try diplomacy. If it worked for Adlai Stevenson, it can work for us.

This news analysis has considerable journalistic merit. The authors provide an accurate analysis of the issue, without interjecting their own opinions. The main shortcoming is that too little is said about Sen Biden's insane proposal to partition Iraq, without a doubt the most uninformed proposal put forward by anyone in the Senate since 2003.