TheApple

 Well, there seem to have been more than a few misstatements in Senator McCain speech when he accepted the Republican nomination.

Please use the link below to see them all:

Here's just one:

We checked the accuracy of McCain’s speech accepting the Republican nomination and noted the following:

• McCain claimed that Obama’s health care plan would "force small businesses to cut jobs" and would put "a bureaucrat ... between you and your doctor." In fact, the plan exempts small businesses, and those who have insurance now could keep the coverage they have.

http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/factchecking_mccain.html

 and, in the interest of fairness, here's the same site's fact-check of Obama's speech:

"He stuck to the facts, except when he stretched them."

http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/factchecking_obama.html

 Illinois Senator Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential candidate, recently announced a plan to offer small businesses a significant tax credit if they offer their employees group health insurance.

The tax credit would refund small business employers up to 50 percent of workers premiums, reported an Associated Press article this weekend.

This plan would cost an estimated $6 billion per year. Critics of the proposal say it’s too expensive and doesn’t provide enough details.

But small businesses are most vulnerable to the high costs of health care, and many simply cannot afford to provide health insurance benefits.

Senator Obama proposed his plan based on a proposal by New York Senator Hillary Clinton, a former presidential candidate.

“I’m announcing my plan to provide real relief for small business owners crushed by rising costs, an idea championed by my friend Hillary Clinton, who’s been leading the way in our battle to insure every American,” said Senator Obama.

Republican presidential candidate, Arizona Senator John McCain, also has proposed a planto offer health insurance tax credits. But Senator McCain’s plan offers the tax credits for individuals rather than businesses.

But you're right about this:

"Despite offering the press an estimate of what its plan would cost, the Obama campaign will not disclose which firms constitute a "small business" for purposes of this tax credit. It also has not revealed what constitutes a "medium-sized business" for purposes of his partial tax credit.

 Dear Joel,

Honesty in politics? Mama mia, Joel, you're asking for the impossible. Who, for example, is going to say, "Yes, I'll raise your taxes to pay for ____________. "(fill in the blank) and then get elected?

Remember, "Read my lips: no new taxes." Well, it helped get Bush Sr. elected (but it did come back to bite him later.)

"Read my lips: no new taxes" is a now-famous phrase spoken by former American president and candidate George H. W. Bush at the 1988 Republican National Convention as he accepted the nomination on August 18. Written by speechwriter Peggy Noonan, the line was one of the most prominent soundbites from the speech. The pledge not to tax the American people further had been a consistent part of Bush's 1988 election platform, but its prominent inclusion in his speech cemented it in the public consciousness. The impact of the election promise was considerable, and many believe it helped Bush win the 1988 presidential election.

Once he became president, however, Bush was pressured by Democrats and some Republicans to raise taxes as a way to reduce the national budget deficit. Bush refused many times but was making no progress with a Senate and House that was controlled by Democrats. Bush later agreed to a compromise in which he worked with Congressional Democrats to raise several taxes as part of a 1990 budget agreement. This reversal caused great controversy, especially in the more conservative wing of the Republican Party. Although technically there were no new taxes in this agreement, Bush in the same speech also ruled out raising existing taxes. In the 1992 presidential election campaign, Pat Buchanan made extensive use of the phrase in his strong challenge to Bush in the Republican primaries. In the election itself, Democratic nominee Bill Clinton, running as a moderate, also pointed to the quotation as evidence of Bush's untrustworthiness, which contributed to Bush losing his bid for re-election.

 Well, Joel, I admire your optimism (yup, I know - you call it realism.)  If I thought either of us would be around long enough to settle a bet, I'd wager one heck of a lot that you're mistaken.