PolitiFact’s wildest and wackiest claims of 2010

To wrap up our wrap-up coverage for 2010, we bring you the wildest and wackiest claims of the year. We didn’t have to look hard to find them. And we discovered a sub-genre involving animals.

Whoa, Nelly! J.D. Hayworth, who ran unsuccessfully in the Arizona Republican Senate primary, said that a Massachusetts Supreme Court decision might mean “you could marry your horse.”

That pampered pooch: Bloggers worked themselves into a lather claiming that White House pet Bo, the Portuguese water dog, had flown to a vacation in Maine in his own personal jet plane.

Woof! Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn ran a campaign ad that was striking for branding his opponent as a puppy killer.

But let’s move on.

Texas lawyer and rancher Samuel Maverick, famous for not branding his cattle, is probably refusing to turn over in his grave: Sen. John McCain, who subtitled his book Worth Fighting For: The Education of an American Maverick, and the Heroes Who Inspired Him, said he never considered himself one.

A heart-warming story for the holidays: Glenn Beck portrayed Wilmington, Ohio, as a modern-day version of Bedford Falls, the fictional town in the Christmas movie It’s a Wonderful Life, saying that Wilmington was standing on its own two feet and refusing federal assistance after it lost its top employer.

Except for the one portraying him as a roving sociopath: Delaware Republican Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell claimed she hadn’t run any negative ads against her opponent.

Getting it wrong again and again: Ed Schultz, the liberal host of MSNBC’s Ed Show, said not just once, not just twice that Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu received $1.8 million from BP over a 10-year period. Then he issued a correction that was also wrong.

Where is Russ Feingold, and what have you done with his feet? WISN-AM talk radio host Mark Belling said he was “very confident that I am correct in my accusation” that Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold had faked a television ad showing him standing in front of his house and offered as part of his evidence the fact that you don’t see Feingold’s feet in the ad.

And finally there are the numerous claims that President Barack Obama is an impostor.

Still an American: The April 1 dateline on the alleged Associated Press article might have been a tip-off that no, it’s not true that the Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case on whether he is a citizen.

Still not a Muslim: Though polls show a substantial percentage of Americans believe he is.

And probably not that guy in the Whoomp! rap video: Despite blogger claims to the contrary.