Patton: Who's Lying - Trump or Hillary?

It's a great leap forward. Politicians are starting to be held accountable for the truth of the things they say. A leader in this effort is PolitiFact, a fact-checking website, which was launched in 2007 as a project of the Tampa Bay Times.

Statements by politicians are given one of six ratings: (a) True, (b) Mostly True, (c) Half True, (d) Mostly False, (e) False, and (e) Pants on Fire (as in "liar, liar, pants on fire.") According to PolitiFact (11/01/13),"A writer researches the claim and writes the Truth-O-Meter article with a recommended ruling. After the article is edited, it is reviewed by a panel of at least three editors that determines the Truth-O-Meter ruling."

PolitiFact finds particular use in the current presidential campaign, where both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have been accused by partisans of making false statements. In fact, Trump has taken to calling Clinton "Lyin' Hillary."

Trump has been fact-checked by PolitiFAct more than any other candidate, a total of 158 times. PolitiFact is not picking on Trump; he has made more claims than any other candidate because he gets more free air time. Hillary Clinton, though, has not been neglected; she has been fact-checked 120 times.

Let's take a close look at the truthfulness ratings of Trump and Hillary as determined by PolitiFact.

Percentage of statements by Trump and Hillary that were rated "True." Trump = 3 percent. Hillary = 13 percent. Advantage to Hillary.

Percent rated "Mostly True." Trump = 6 percent. Hillary = 40 percent. Advantage to Hillary.

Percent rated "Half True." Trump = 13 percent. Hillary = 20 percent. Advantage to Hillary.

Percent rated "Mostly False." Trump = 18 percent. Hillary = 13 percent. Advantage to Hillary.

Percent rated "False." Trump = 41 percent. Hillary = 12 percent. Advantage to Hillary.

Percent rated "Pants on Fire" falsehoods. Trump = 19 percent. Hillary = 1 percent. Advantage to Hillary.

In summary, across the board, Hillary Clinton has been consistently rated more truthful and made fewer false claims than Donald Trump.

In fact, PolitiFact (6/29/2016) notes that "Ninety-five of the 158 fact-checks of claims made by Trump have been rated False or Pants on Fire. Add in Mostly False and that accounts for 123 (78 percent) of all of Trump's fact-checked claims . . .

"Trump has more statements rated Pants on Fire, 30, than the 21 other candidates for president we've fact-checked this cycle combined."

When Donald Trump accuses Hillary Clinton of being a liar, a clinical psychologist might claim that he is using a defense mechanism called projection. Projection occurs when a person blinds him or herself to personal weaknesses by attributing them to another person. Thus, Trump might be unaware of his own falsehoods and believe that only Hillary is lying. I think that's too complicated an explanation.

A reasonable person might say Donald Trump doesn't tell the truth because he thinks that he'll be believed and that no one will notice that his claims are false. Sorry, Donald, PolitiFact gotcha.

And it makes me wonder if all those claims that Trump makes of what he will achieve as president aren't more fantasy than fact. He promises to create many new jobs, defeat ISIS, end illegal immigration, repeal the Affordable Care Act, and lower taxes. But, he rarely provides the details explaining how he will do these things.

As experts warn consumers, "read for the fine print." The details make all the difference.

Gary Patton is the author of two books, Selling Mt. Washington, a political satire, and Outtastatahs: Newcomers' Adventures in New Hampshire, a work of regional humor.