If I had one piece of advice to offer somebody looking to run for public office (Henry Sanders, John Imes) it would be that there is always something good to say about yourself, and there is always something bad to say about your opponent.
This is the basic rhetorical formula for most political campaigns. Unfortunately, the things that are actually good about candidates, as well as the things that are actually bad about their opponents, may be too complicated to communicate to voters. Or most voters may simply disagree.
So it's not surprising to see that Politifact rated the entire 2010 campaign as "barely true."
Although I do think most of the attacks against Politifact from liberals on the blogosphere was fueled by bitterness over its criticism of Democratic candidates, I do acknowledge that it is an imperfect analyst of many statements, particularly ones pertaining to the economy. Often its fact-checking consists largely of consulting experts and making an educated judgement on an economic issue.
