Fact checking Paul Ryan: truths vs. views

>>> that fiction as truth strategy of the romney campaign. what happens when the media loses its credibility and the persistent retelling of fiction in an election becomes in the minds of many, fact. that just may be a page out of the romney playbook. according to neil newhouse, here's what he said. fact checkers come to this with their own set of thoughts. we're not going to let our campaign be dictated by fact checkers. with me now are the "hardball" strategists. steve mcmahan and john feehery. that was a hell of a statement because fact checkers sort of do this for a living. they're generally reliable. for the republicans to say we don't need no badges like in the movie, no new stinking badges . we're just going to make our points. what do you make of that statement?

>> i think that you cannot be, your campaign has, you have to run your campaign. you can't dictate. glenn kesler says in the " washington post " or bill odair, i like both those guys. you have to say the facts as you believe them to be. i remember when joe wilson called president obama a liar and i condemned him for it. you have to be very careful in calling paul ryan , who said the truth, his speech is accurate all the way down the line. calling him a liar really degrades the political --

>> i think it is going to get there because of the fact of the enumeration of these. i'm not going to be the one to call him that. why a guy with a clean record go out before a national convention introducing himself with our, let's put it this way, hard to argue statements. talk about deceptive language. he sends the debt plan in his district closed on obama 's watch. that was a clear implication of that charge he made at the convention and now, it turns out that it closed on george w. bush 's watch. now, i don't know how you can say that's just how he sees it.

>> by the way, not only did it close on george bush 's watch, it was on a list to be closed in june of 2008 , then closed before president obama took office.

>> let's get the the facts.

>> that's what we're doing.

>> you said the facts were a matter of interpretation. you have to run your campaign based on the facts as you believe them, but when there's a date of a plant closure, a plant announcement and it's in your state, the expectation is that you would be aware of it. particularly after --

>> here are the facts. barack obama came to janesville. that's a fact. he said that his economic policies would reopen that plant. that's a fact.

>> reopen?

>> that's what he said. and then the third fact is the plant still closed. the economic policies and that's why --

>> i thought he said he would save it.

>> he said those jobs would come back. there would be a reopen and the fact of the matter is, that plant is still closed. the bigger fact --

>> when did the plant closed?

>> that doesn't matter. it closed in november, october 2008 .

>> if barack obama had any able ability to stop the the closing of that plant --

>> you and your notion of relative truth. if i say to you i'll play democrat. tokyo's the capital of japan , right? is there another point of view in that one? no, is there a paul ryan view, no i i've got another capital of japan because i see it this way. osa osaka. can he say that's his point of view?

>> of course not.

>> not only he says it died on obama 's watch.

>> the fact of the matter is obama did go to that plant --

>> let's go over this. i very much talked about a member of my family worked for the debt commission. i look and say he should have done it. i may have been wrong. somebody should have -- and beat you there. ryan said that basically about the president wednesday night. i thought it was a tough charge. he never pointed out useful information. he was on the --

>> it was the president's debt commission and one thing about paul ryan . he passed the budget, he stand up, stepped up to his responsibilities as budget chairman and got a budget passed twice. t the president walked way --

>> how about if a ship sank and one blamed the other and never mentioned oh, i also left the ship before it sank.

>> the two budgets that paul ryan passed, they had the very same medicare cuts that paul ryan now criticizes the president for and while they talk about balancing the budget --

>> they've got a $4.3 billion tax cut that's not paid for.

>> let's take a look at some of ryan -- here he is talking about the failure of president obama to support simpson bowles an his deficit reduction effort. let's watch.

>> he created a new bipartisan debt commission. they came back with an urgent report. he thanked them, sent them on their way and then did exactly nothing. and what did ryan do?

>> he passed his own budget. he voted against him. but the fact of the matter is when it comes to medicare charge, yes, they had the the same numbers, but different types of cuts and what obama has done, 700 -- it's in his record.

>> it's clear that ryan 's got a problem here and it's going beyond this table and you, feehery, you're doing a good job here and i flaked and that's flaking. the dnc next week. i want you to try to play democrat here. you first, then him. you're a pro at it. how does the president address the serious question last week are you better off than you were four years ago? that's a tough charge. a legitimate charge.

>> i think he's got to do a few things. first, remind people of what he inherited. second, he's got to acknowledge it's been more difficult, taken longer and been a harder road than he thought it would be and he knows you are disappointed. because he's disappointed too.

>> would it be all right to say i pulled the consider out of the ditch. it doesn't isn't running right.

>> it's better than what he was going to do. what he can't do --

>> your convention to get the woman's vote. there's my mother, pli daughter and sister.

>> very important --

>> every female member of his family.

>> absolutely. but the fact of the matter is what he can't talk about is his record because it's unpopular. and that's why --

>> you're a good pro. play well on a money track.