Is Gov. Bob McDonnell abiding by the campaign promises that led to his 2009 election?
Introducing the Bob-O-Meter.
In it’s partnership with the Richmond Times-Dispatch, PolitiFact — the Pulitzer Prize-winning fact-checking website that rates the truthfulness of political statements — announced today it is reviewing McDonnell’s campaign comments to see if he’s staying true to his word.
The Bob-O-Meter, as it will be called, will evaluate about 50 of the Republican governor’s pledges as either “promise kept,” “promise broken,” “compromise,” “stalled,” “in the works,” or “not rated.”
Three statements are already rated. McDonnell’s vow to raise the speed limit to 70 mph on some rural highways was stamped “promise kept.” Another is “in the works” while a third was marked “compromise.”
The new features follows similar barometer’s set up by PolitiFact such as the “Walk-O-Meter” for Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and the “Obameter” for President Obama. It will coincide with other McDonnell gauges like the Flip-O-Meter, which determines whether the governor has switched sides on an issue.
PolitiFact’s most notorious features are the “Truth-O-Meter,” that rates political statements on a scale ranging from “True” to “Pants on Fire” false, and its annual “Lie of the Year.” The watchdog group currently operates in nine states in addition to following national politics.
