Fact-checking

8220;That8217;s not true, John. That8217;s not true,8221; said Obama.

8220;And that8217;s just a fact,8221; McCain said. 8220;You can look it up.8221;

Looking it up reveals, however, that it is largely untrue. Nonetheless, the charge has been a staple of McCain8217;s campaign ads.

8226; McCain assailed Obama8217;s plan to withdraw troops from Iraq on a timetable and send them to Afghanistan. McCain said that Adm Michael G Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has suggested that Obama8217;s plan 8220;is dangerous for America8221;.

8220;That is not the case,8221; Obama said. 8220;What he said was a precipitous withdrawal would be dangerous.8221;

Both were correct. Mullen has said that a 8220;precipitous withdrawal8230; would concern me greatly.8221; But Mullen also favours more troops for Afghanistan.

8226; The candidates offered different views of corporate taxation. McCain said that United States businesses currently pay the second-highest tax rates in the world. Obama countered that loopholes allow businesses to pay 8220;one of the lowest tax rates in the world8221;.

Both claims are substantially correct. Only Japan imposes a higher corporate tax rate than the Unites States.