Truth Squad

It was a furious weekend of speaking for Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate, who served as keynote speaker at the first-ever National Tea Party convention over the weekend, followed by an interview on Fox News Sunday. Unfortunately, according to the politically neutral watchdog group, FactCheck.org, Palin didn't always stick to the facts. Rather, she spun them in an apparent effort to win points with her fellow conservatives.

According to FactCheck, a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, Palin easily hoped on the 'Why-should-authorities have-read-rights-to-the-alleged-underpants-bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab?' bandwagon, but spread misinformation in doing so. She implied that the Nigerian who allegedly tried to detonate a jetliner on Christmas Day stopped talking after he was read his Miranda rights. "He did" stop speaking, FactCheck, notes, "but not for good." It seems despite the spin, Abdulmutallab "began talking again extensively after counterterrorism agents enlisted the help of his family and he has provided information on all the subjects Palin mentioned."

Palin also stretch the truth "when she said that $6 million in stimulus funds went to a Democratic pollster. In fact, only $4.36 million was spent on the contract, which was with the giant public relations firm Burson-Marsteller, where the pollster is CEO."

A few more gotchas from FactCheck:

• Palin repeated her oft-stated, greatly exaggerated claim that Alaska produces 20 percent of the U.S. domestic energy supply. The actual figure is just under 2.9 percent.
• Her claim that the state spent "millions" dealing with ethics complaints against her is one that has been disputed. Her own tally is less than $2 million, and an Anchorage newspaper said most of that was salaries of state workers who would have been paid whether or not Palin was being investigated.
• Analysis
• Palin, the former governor of Alaska and newly-signed Fox News commentator, had a highly visible weekend, delivering the keynote address Saturday at the National Tea Party convention and appearing Sunday on Fox News for an interview with host Chris Wallace.

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