We found that none of the last seven Virginia governors has created jobs fast enough to keep up with working-age population growth. Of the nine governors dating back to 1978, only Democrat Chuck Robb met the standard set forth by McAuliffe. Robb led the state from 1982 to 1986.
Congress has raised the debt limit nine times since 2002 when the cap was $5.7 trillion. We thought it would be interesting to look at the voting records of Virginia’s congressional delegation on the measures.
"Not often am I ashamed to live in Virginia," the email said. "Between you, Gov. McDonnell and Eric Cantor, I am ready to move out."
But Axelrod was wrong when he said McDonnell balanced Virginia's budget by borrowing $3 billion against future federal transportation receipts. And McDonnell erred when he said "30 years after World War II, we cut the deficit every year."
Contrary to Rogers' sentiment, truth and politics are not always polar concepts. Four of the last five statements we’ve fact checked out have been rated True.
"Enough of the Truth-o-Meter!!!" one reader emailed. "We get it already. If it's a bad thing said by or about a Republican, then it's the truth. If it's a bad thing said about a Democrat then it's a lie. We get it already."
Conversely, a liberal blog accused us of going easy on Republicans,
The Truth-O-Meter and the Flop-O-Meter went into late-October mode last week when former Gov. Tim Kaine announced he would run for the seat being vacated by fellow Democrat Jim Webb. Republican George Allen did not take it lightly.
McDonnell pledged to establish a bipartisan citizens’ commission to draw election maps. He appointed the 11-member panel in January and it has drawn electoral maps with an eye toward compact districts, not partisan concerns.
But Tucker Martin, McDonnell’s director of communications, last week distanced the administration from from the panel. He said "the recommendations of the commission are theirs alone; they are not recommendations of the governor."
We do want to draw your attention to the March 13 comments of two ESPN basketball analysts upon learning Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond was among 68 men’s basketball teams chosen to compete for the NCAA national championship.
Basketball mavens Dick Vitale and Jay Bilas were outraged by VCU’s inclusion. They said some bigger-name schools -- specifically Virginia Tech and the University of Colorado -- were more deserving of the berth.
We always call the person who made the claim and ask where he or she got the information that his or her statement was based on. Sometimes the answers are a little surprising.
Politicians claim way too much credit for good jobs news and heap way too much blame on opponents when the news is bad. Economists keep telling us that the policies of presidents and governors have only a minor effect on economic cycles.
Our reader raised an interesting point: how does the increase in road costs compare to the rise in overall inflation?