Gibson versus the facts

FactCheck.org published its review of Wednesday's ABC News Democratic Debate. Clinton and Obama both made some factual missteps, as is to be expected. But I tend to think that Clinton's errors were far more blatant--and on far more significant issues.

The most distressing item, in my mind, was Charlie Gibson's spin about raising the capital gains tax. Not only did he distort Obama's statements on the subject, but he toyed with the facts about the increased revenues resulting from capital gains cuts.

The truth is that there is a great deal of debate among economists about whether cutting the capital gains tax actually increases revenues. (Many economists maintain that cuts offer only short-term gains from asset sell-offs, but ultimately do little to raise revenues.) Gibson asserted definitively that "in each instance, when the rate dropped, revenues from the tax increased."

Maybe there's a reason why people are angry about this debate . . .