Fact Checking Columbo Forward
Forward Check
Analysis of your inbox
FW: Columbo
Introduction:
- College records
- Columbia thesis
- Selective Service Registration
- Medical records
- Law practice client list
- Birth certificate or Certification of Live Birth
- Harvard Law Review articles published
- University of Chicago scholarly articles
- Record of baptism
- Illinois State Senate schedule and records
Analysis:
Neither John McCain nor Barack Obama has released his academic records in full.
We do know that Obama attended Occidental College for two years before he transferred to Columbia University where he received his B.A. in political science in 1983. He graduated with his J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 19911.
An NBC News analysis revealed that Obama couldn’t have technically written a thesis statement because Columbia University didn’t recognize theses from undergraduate political science majors until the 1990s.
However, Obama did spend a year on a thesis-length course paper. Obama claims that he does not have a copy of this paper, but the Obama campaign will not clarify whether it was misplaced or discarded. They are also keeping mum on the paper’s content.
NBC contacted Michael Baron, Obama’s former professor and current Obama supporter and campaign contributor. Baron recalls that the topic of the paper was nuclear negotiations with the Soviet Union. “The course was not a polemical course,” he added, “it was a course in decision making and how decisions got made. None of the papers in the class were controversial”3.
3. Selective Service Registration:
In 1975, Proclamation 4360 ended the requirement to register with the Selective Service, better known as the draft4. In 1980, Jimmy Carter retroactively reinstated Selective Service for men 18 and older born on or after January 1st, 1960 with Proclamation 47715. So, Obama would have been required to register when the draft was reinstated.
Janice L. Hughes of the Public & Governmental Affairs office of the Selective Service System confirmed by e-mail that Barack Obama registered with Selective Service September 4, 19806.
Obama has not released his medical records in full, but he has released a one-page assessment from his doctor giving him a clean bill of health and noting family risk factors and a history of smoking7.
John McCain released an extensive medical history select members of the press on a limited basis; according to the report, McCain is also in good health despite a previous battle with skin cancer8.
UPDATE: The New York Times published an article on October 20th examining the health information provided by both presidential candidates and both vice-presidential candidates. The author finds information lacking on all four candidates. Past presidential candidates beginning with Regan have been much more forthcoming. He also notes that both John McCain and Joe Biden have undergone surgery for life-threatening illnesses.
In 1993 Obama joined the law firm of Miner, Barnhill & Galland. He was an associate until 1996 and of counsel from 1996 to 2004. He has not publicly released a list of clients. However, a Chicago Sun-Times article on ethics law from 1998 reports that Obama, “reported a full list of clients,” on his ethics disclosure forms9.
Obama’s name did come up involving a scandal with low-income housing developer Rezko. However, the Chicago Tribune notes that Obama only worked a few hours on the case during his time at Miner, Barnhill & Galland and that he did submit ethics disclosure reports listing his clients while a member of the Illinois State Senate:
“The paper also examined files from the Illinois Housing Development Authority and the city housing department, as well as the hundreds of clients Obama listed in the unusually frank ethics disclosure reports he filed as a state senator from December 1995 through April 200410. “
6. Birth Certificate and Certificate of Live Birth:
Obama has released his birth certificate. A copy is posted on his website11. After rumors questioning the validity of the certificate begin to spread on the Internet, FactCheck.org sent a team to investigate the original and posted photos of the certificate’s signature and raised seal.
The document posted on Obama’s website is a short-form birth certificate. A long-form certificate is drawn up by the hospital and includes additional information. However, Hawaii’s Department of Health birth certificate request form does not provide the option to request the long-form. FactCheck.org tried contacting the Hawaii DOH; however, the DOH has yet to respond.
Factcheck.org also found Obama’s birth announcement in the Honolulu Advertiser from Sunday, August 13, 196112.
7. Harvard Law Review Articles:
This one is almost true. As editor of the Harvard Law Review, it’s true that Obama didn’t write any articles; he only reviewed and edited them. However, a month before he became president, he published an unsigned case comment on Stallman vs. Youngquist on the right of the fetus to sue its mother for negligence.
Obama’s campaign confirmed his authorship of the piece. Obama’s article begins on page 823 of Volume 103 of the Harvard Law Review13.
8. University of Chicago Scholarly Articles:
It’s true that Obama published no scholarly articles during his 12 years as a professor at the University of Chicago Law School. Obama did write his first book, Dreams From My Father, during this time 14 15.
Neither the Obama nor the McCain camps has released any official records concerning the faiths of the candidates.
Obama claims he was baptized in the early 1990s at the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago16.
McCain identified himself as Episcopalian for many years; however, he and his family have been members of the North Pheonix Baptist Church for the last 16 years. He has never been baptized17.
10. Illinois State Senate Schedule & Records:
According to Obama’s campaign page his state Senate records are publicly available18. Transcripts of meetings of the Illinois General Assembly are available and searchable online. A representative graphic highlighting important bills during his senate career and the percentage of bills he sponsored by category is available from the New York Times.
Tim Russert questioned Obama about his Illinois State Senate Schedule on Meet the Press in 2007. Obama claims that he did not keep a schedule while he was a member of the State Senate. Russert pointed out that at least one of Obama’s colleagues, Senator Durbin, publishes his schedule daily. Obama concludes the exchange saying that these days his schedule is public19.
Conclusion:
The Columbo forward does present some whoppers. However, the forward is mostly guilty of presenting half-truths or making demands for information that is already available (e.g., Obama’s birth certificate) or irrelevant (e.g., the demand for the record of Baptism). The forward is an attempt to create a sense of conspiracy. My verdict is that the Columbo forward should be taken with a grain of salt.
About the Author:
Forward Check is a column proposal created by Bailey Smith for JOMC 711 Writing for Digital Media at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Mrs. Smith is a registered Democrat.
Sources:
1. Obama vs. McCain on the issues. The Seattle Times. 27 September 2008.
2. FACTBOX: John McCain, Republican presidential candidate. Reuters. 26 September 2008.
3. Obama and the case of the missing ‘thesis’. NBC News: Deep Background. 24 July 2008.
4. Proclamation 4360 – Selective Service Registration. The American Presidency Project. 29 March 1975.
5. Proclamation 4771–Registration Under the Military Selective Service Act. The National Archives. 2 July 1980.
6. E-mail. Janice L. Hughes, Public & Intergovernmental Affairs, Selective Service System. 2 October 2008.
7. Barack Obama’s doctor gives him a clean bill of health. Los Angeles Times: Top of the Ticket Blog. 29 May 2008.
8. FACTBOX – John McCain’s health records. Reuters UK. 23 May 2008.
9. Ethics law reveals too little, group says. Chicago Sun-Times. 29 March 2008. (Available for purchase from the Chicago Sun-Times)
10. Obama, Rezko ties again at issue. Chicago Tribune. 23 January 2008. (Available for purchase from the Chicago Tribune)
11. Barack Obama’s Official Birth Certificate. Obama/Biden: Fight the Smears. 2008.
12. Born in the U.S.A. FactCheck.org. 21 August 2008. Born in the U.S.A. FactCheck.org. 21 August 2008.
13. Obama’s lost law review article. Politico. 22 August 2008.
14. Teaching Law, Testing Ideas, Obama Stood Slightly Apart. New York Times. 30 July 2008.
15. The Story of Obama, Written by Obama. New York Times. 18 May 2008.
16. Finding His Faith. Newsweek. 12 July 2008.
17. McCain: I’m Baptist, not Episcopalian. The Christian Post. 17 September 2007.
18. Fact Check: Obama’s State Senate Records Are Publicly Available. Obama/Biden: Know the Facts. 14 November 2007.
19. Transcript for Nov. 11 2007. Meet the Press. 11 November 2007.
