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Politicians fail History 101

Facts don't always align with the point a contender hopes to make.

By JOHN FRANK, Times Staff Writer
Published December 21, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT [AP photo] The statement: "The estate tax, which came into being by Republicans like Teddy Roosevelt and others ... is there for a real simple reason: In America, we've never liked the idea of massive inherited wealth." The ruling: Hillary Rodham Clinton's historical recount, and dig at Republicans, shows selective memory. Wars, not wealth, drove Democratic presidents to approve the legislation.

The rhetoric of the 2008 presidential campaign is tough for historians to stomach.

All too often the candidates invoke former leaders and past eras as they emphasize a point or justify a position.

Look no further than Rudy Giuliani's latest television ad, Mitt Romney's speech about being Mormon or Hillary Rodham Clinton's reasoning for estate taxes.

Who doesn't want the Founding Fathers on their side?

But historians sour because candidates frequently get the facts wrong.

"I think for most historians it's very frustrating to watch politicians use history," said David Farber, a Temple University history professor. "We are happy they are sharing American history, but I think it becomes an exercise more in the ludicrous claims than the legitimate."

Take Mike Huckabee's statement during a Republican debate in Orlando that most of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were clergymen. Or Duncan Hunter's assertion in a Fox News interview that George Washington prayed every day and had his own field manual of prayers.

Both claims are untrue, historians say.

In fact, only one signer was an active preacher at the time, John Witherspoon, a Presbyterian minister and president of the College of New Jersey, now Princeton University. A leading religion Web site, Adherents.com, said three others were former clergymen, but not most of the 56, as the former Arkansas governor and Baptist minister said.

Likewise, Hunter, a Republican congressman from California, ignored the fact that Washington's religious convictions are a point of major contention. Historical biographers such as Rupert Hughes outright debunked the myth about Washington's so-called prayer book in the early 20th century.

"People tend to attribute their own views to someone in the past," said Phil Chase, a historian at the University of Virginia. "The Founding Fathers are very important to what's going on. ...But if you are going to comment on it historically, you should try to get the facts straight."

Lower expectations

Call it cynicism, but Leo Ribuffo, a history professor at George Washington University, doesn't expect politicians to always get it right. He says he doesn't like when the media parse candidates' speeches to verify the historical material.

"I have lower expectations," he explained. "I don't think political speeches are expected to accurately represent the past. ... One of the problems with real history is it's too complicated to get into a political speech or a newspaper article."

It's a valid point, especially when candidates make statements on the fly, historians say.

Still, others argue someone seeking the highest office ought to know the facts before speaking. "It's one thing if it's a simple mistake, but often they misconstrue on purpose," said historian John Alexander of the University of Cincinnati.

Politicians realize the potency of historical moments when cited properly. When Romney, the former Republican governor of Massachusetts, gave a key address on his Mormon faith earlier this month, he accurately quoted a speech Samuel Adams gave to the First Continental Congress in 1774 about the importance of accepting many faiths. And John McCain supported his position against waterboarding as an interrogation technique by correctly noting that after World War II Japanese soldiers were hanged for such crimes against U.S. prisoners.

A selective approach

More often, historians see candidates use the right historical facts and then blur the edges to fit their interpretation.

Case in point: Giuliani's TV ad airing this month in New Hampshire, experts say. In the 30-second spot, the former New York City mayor focuses on the importance of national security by recounting the Iran hostage crisis.

Giuliani gets the facts largely correct but insinuates that Republican President Ronald Reagan deserves the credit for the hostages' release moments after his inauguration - not outgoing Democratic President Jimmy Carter. Experts call the ad misleading.

"It happened that they did not hit Algiers until (Reagan) was in office about a half hour," Warren Christopher, the Carter deputy secretary of state who led the hostage negotiations, said in an interview. "But all the negotiations took place before the inauguration."

Clinton took a similarly selective approach to history during a recent forum in Derry, N.H. When a voter asked about her plan to use estate tax revenue to pay for universal retirement accounts, the leading Democratic contender turned to history and slipped in a dig at the GOP.

"The estate tax, which came into being by Republicans like Teddy Roosevelt and others ... is there for a real simple reason: In America, we've never liked the idea of massive inherited wealth."

But it was war, not wealth, that prompted the first estate tax levies dating back as far as 1797. Clinton is correct in saying that Roosevelt supported an estate tax, but it didn't become law until 1916, when Woodrow Wilson, a Democrat, used it to pay for World War I.

Even more, the framework for the modern estate tax system was developed by another Democratic president, Franklin D. Roosevelt.

To be sure, the candidates don't deserve all the ire. Much of their words are scripted by speechwriters and researchers.

Doug Gamble has written speeches for two presidents and many other politicians. The California-based writer's forte is humor, but he's careful when it comes to history.

"As a writer myself, when I use historical references I would do absolutely everything I could to verify its accuracy," he said. "I'd hate to contribute to the embarrassment of the candidate."

Times researchers Angie Drobnic Holan and Lissa August and Miranda Blue of Congressional Quarterly contributed to this report. John Frank can be reached at jfrank@sptimes.com or (352) 754-6114.

The statement

"Our first president ... prayed every day. He had a field manual of prayers."

Duncan Hunter, Oct. 31 in Fox News interview

The ruling

The story of Washington's personal prayer book was debunked 81 years ago.

For more rulings on the candidates' statements, go to Politifact.com

Ad misleading on hostage crisis

The statement

"Iranian mullahs took American hostages and they held the American hostages for 444 days. ... The one hour in which they released them was the one hour in which Ronald Reagan was taking the Oath of Office."

Rudy Giuliani, Dec. 5 in a TV ad

The ruling

He gets the facts technically correct but his insinuation that President Reagan deserves all the credit for the hostages' release is wrong.

War, not wealth, prompted the tax

The statement

"The estate tax, which came into being by Republicans like Teddy Roosevelt and others ... is there for a real simple reason: In America, we've never liked the idea of massive inherited wealth."

Hillary Rodham Clinton, Oct. 10 in a town hall meeting in Derry, N.H.

The ruling

Clinton's historical recount, and dig at Republicans, shows selective memory. Wars, not wealth, drove Democratic presidents to approve the legislation.

History supports McCain's stance

The statement

"Following World War II, war crime trials were convened. The Japanese were tried and convicted and hung for war crimes committed against American POWs. Among those charges for which they were convicted was waterboarding."

John McCain, Nov. 29 in campaign event in St. Petersburg

The ruling

We find McCain's retelling of history to be accurate.

[Last modified December 21, 2007, 10:16:48]