ABC's Robin Roberts did not challenge Giuliani's tax falsehood

Summary: ABC's Robin Roberts did not challenge Rudy Giuliani's claim that Sen. Barack Obama "wants to raise taxes." In fact, Obama has repeatedly said he would cut taxes for families making less than $250,000 per year, and Sen. John McCain's own chief economic adviser reportedly said that it is inaccurate to claim that "Barack Obama raises taxes."

On the October 14 edition of ABC's Good Morning America, co-host Robin Roberts did not challenge former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani when he claimed Sen. Barack Obama "wants to raise taxes," repeating a conservative charge that often goes unchallenged by the media. In fact, Obama has repeatedly said he would cut taxes for low- and middle-income families, specifically those making less than $250,000 per year. Further, Sen. John McCain's own chief economic adviser, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, reportedly said that it is inaccurate to claim that "Barack Obama raises taxes."

Obama again laid out his plan to cut taxes during an October 10 campaign stop in Ohio. He said:

You've heard a lot about taxes in this campaign. Well, here's the truth -- my opponent and I are both offering tax cuts. The difference is, he wants to give $200 billion in tax cuts to the biggest corporations in America, and he wants to give the average Fortune 500 CEO a $700,000 tax cut. But he gives nothing at all to over 100 million Americans.

I have a different set of priorities. I'll give a middle-class tax cut to 95% of all workers. And if you make less than $250,000 a year -- which includes 98 percent of small business owners -- you won't see your taxes increase one single dime. Not your payroll taxes, not your income taxes, not your capital gains taxes -- nothing. Because in an economy like this, the last thing we should do is raise taxes on the middle-class.

A September 15 analysis of the candidates' tax plans by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center -- written prior to McCain's October 14 announcement of a $52.5 billion economic plan -- found that "Obama would give larger tax cuts to low- and moderate-income households and pay some of the cost by raising taxes on high-income taxpayers. In contrast, McCain would cut taxes across the board and give the biggest cuts to the highest-income households." The report says that through Obama's plan, "By 2012, middle-income taxpayers would see their after-tax income rise by about 5 percent, or nearly $2,200 annually. Those in the top 1 percent would face a $19,000 average tax increase -- a 1.5 percent reduction in after-tax income." Further, "McCain would lift after-tax incomes an average of about 3 percent, or $1,400 annually, for middle-income taxpayers by 2012. But, in sharp contrast to Obama, he would cut taxes for those in the top 1% by more than $125,000, raising their after-tax income an average 9.5 percent."

From the October 14 broadcast of ABC's Good Morning America:

GIULIANI: I mean, look, both campaigns have had people -- surrogates, people who are involved with them, say things that maybe the candidates themselves wouldn't say. The reality is they have great disagreements -- a lot of respect for each other -- but great disagreements. I think the real issue here is, in my view, John McCain is much more prepared to be president than Barack Obama. He has the experience. He's led -- he's led this country through crisis before.

Barack Obama is basically new on the scene. He doesn't have that experience. Those are not personal things, those are things that go to their resume, and I think that's what John will be emphasizing. Plus, I think his package of reforms for the economy are really going to help this economy grow, whereas I think Barack Obama, who wants to raise taxes, raise tariffs -- which is exactly what Herbert Hoover did -- would be a terrible mistake.

ROBERTS: And how does John McCain turn it around? Our ABC News/Washington Post poll has him 10 points down. No one has ever come back from that kind of deficit.

—D.C.P.