Where's the truth? A look at the facts

Both Barack Obama and John McCain took liberties with the record or leaned heavily on innuendo during Tuesday's debate. Some examples:

MCCAIN

THE CLAIM: McCain said Obama was the No. 2 recipient in Congress of political contributions from employees of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. He then suggested that Obama "took a hike" while others called for stricter federal oversight of the mortgage giants.

THE RECORD: In four years in the Senate, Obama received $126,349 in campaign contributions from the employees of those firms and company-affiliated political action committees, second in the Congress, according to the independent Center for Responsive Politics. Obama, however, warned in 2007 of a looming mortgage crisis, cautioned last March that the fallout would eventually cost "hundreds of billions of dollars" and proposed legislation aimed at cracking down on mortgage fraud and protecting consumers against potential abuse from sub-prime lenders.

THE CLAIM: McCain said he would propose a $5,000-per-family tax credit to help individuals pay for health care insurance.

THE RECORD: The other side of the equation: McCain has also proposed removing current tax breaks for businesses that provide health care insurance to employees.

THE CLAIM: McCain said Obama has called for $860 billion in new spending.

THE RECORD: Both Obama and McCain have proposed hundreds of billions of dollars in additional spending over the next four years, largely offset by proposed spending cuts and tax hikes.

Independent economists differ on the values of each plan. Obama has proposed spending between $758 billion and $1.3 trillion, depending on the assumptions used to calculate the costs. McCain has proposed new spending of between $536 billion and $945 billion, again, depending on the analysis used.

Independent analysts agree, however, that neither candidate has proposed an effective plan for cutting the federal budget deficit, which is on track to remain above $400 billion a year throughout the next four years under either candidate's proposals.

THE CLAIM: Obama would raise taxes on "50 percent of small business revenue."

THE RECORD: Obama has proposed tax hikes for workers and businesses earning more than $250,000 a year. The vast majority of small businesses -- 90 percent or more by some estimates -- fall well below that threshold.

OBAMA

THE CLAIM: Obama said McCain would cut corporate taxes by $300 million.

THE RECORD: Both McCain and Obama have proposed extending Bush-era tax cuts due to expire at the end of 2010. Extending the cuts would cost an estimated $294 billion. McCain would offset those cuts to the tune of $42 billion, largely by closing corporate tax loopholes. Obama would offset the cuts by about $80 billion, chiefly by raising taxes on families who earn more than $250,000 a year and partially reinstating the estate tax. The estimates are from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonpartisan Washington research outfit.

THE CLAIM: Obama said the current economic crisis is due in part to McCain supporting Bush policies to "strip away regulations, consumer protections, let the market run wild and prosperity would rain down on all of us. It hasn't worked out that way."

THE RECORD: While McCain has supported reducing government regulation while in the Senate, he strongly favored heightened accountability for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac at least several years before the current crisis. Many experts trace the roots of the current economic meltdown to 1999 legislation that reduced regulations over the financial industry. That legislation was pushed by then-Sen. Phil Gramm, a Texas Republican who has been an adviser to McCain. But the legislation was also supported and signed by President Clinton and then-Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, who now advises Obama.