PolitiFact ferrets out charges in Meek-Greene debate

They summarize their findings as thus:

Greene wasn't king of the practice of Credit Default Swaps, but we think it's fair to say he was in the royal court. He actually stole the idea from a New York hedge fund manager, who himself wasn't the first to bet on mortgages going bad. Greene was, however, one of the more successful cases stories and made about $500 million.

And saying Credit Default Swaps brought about the destruction of the U.S. economy glosses over the subprime mortgage crisis and concerns over lax regulation, for starters. Banks helped people get into homes they simply couldn't afford, and wrote risky mortgages that resulted in delinquent payments, defaults and eventually foreclosures.

PolitiFact weighs in on only one other statement uttered during the debate.  That being Meek's comment that if and when he is elected in August, he'll be the only pro-choice candidate that voters will have to choose from in November.

The website says that the statement is "mostly true," and breaks it down looking at many of the alternative party candidates positions on abortions and choice.

Of course, they need several sentences to figure out where Charlie Crist is on the issue.  A Meek spokesman sort of says it all in reference to the now independent candidate.

"On Charlie Crist, it is almost impossible to PolitiFact him because he doesn’t hold a position," said Adam Sharon, Meek’s spokesman.

There were other statements made (as there always are during debates) that seemed to scream for a PolitiFact judge to make a ruling on, but this reporter is grateful that the Times/Herald has the resources to scrutinize at least some of these charges.