CNN's Ashleigh Banfield took Obama spokesperson Ben LaBolt to task on Tuesday when she questioned him about a new ad released by the campaign that criticizes GOP candidate Mitt Romney's leadership record at Bain Capital.
The ad features interviews with several steel workers who lost their jobs while Romney supposedly led Bain Capital. Banfield said it was "heart-wrenching" to hear the steel workers rip Romney's leadership "when in fact he wasn't at the helm when that company went bankrupt." She then asked, referring back to the ad, "Was that fair, or was that dirty?"
LaBolt maintained that even when Romney left to help organize the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, he still owned Bain and profited from the company.
"You and I both know he was not managing the company at that time," Banfield charged. She asked if it was "unfair" and "dirty" to highlight one plant that was already failing during a time when the steel industry was at its worst. She pointed out that "business is complex, and it can't be boiled down to simple black and white that easily."
At the end of the interview, Banfield told LaBolt to "keep it clean out there for heaven's sake. We hate that crap on television." She added, "Be nice to each other. Pump your own guy up. Dont tear the other guy down. It's nice for Americans."
While Banfield intensely questioned LaBolt, she referenced a Washington Post fact-checking article, which she said gave the ad "one Pinocchio, which is 'a big fat lie.'" Banfield was incorrect.
As Politico pointed out, The Washington Post fact-checker does not define "one Pinocchio" as "a big fat lie." Instead, "once Pinocchio" is defined as "some shading of the facts. Selective telling of the truth. Some omissions and exaggerations, but no outright falsehoods."
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