AP "FactCheck" distorted Dems' claim that McCain voted with Bush "90 percent of the time"

Summary: Purporting to give "[s]ome examples of who said what -- and what they left out," an AP "FactCheck" pointed to Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey's and Gov. Ed Rendell's statements that Sen. John McCain votes with President Bush "90 percent of the time" or more and stated that "McCain wasn't always a staunch Bush backer. In 2005, his support for Bush's position on legislation reached a low of 77 percent." But contrary to the AP's suggestion, neither Casey nor Rendell asserted that McCain was "always a staunch Bush backer."

Referring to claims by Pennsylvania Sen. Robert Casey Jr. and Gov. Ed Rendell during their August 26 speeches at the Democratic National Convention that Sen. John McCain votes with President Bush "90 percent of the time" or more than 90 percent of the time, an Associated Press "FactCheck," purporting to give "[s]ome examples of who said what -- and what they left out," stated that "McCain wasn't always a staunch Bush backer. In 2005, his support for Bush's position on legislation reached a low of 77 percent; last year, when he launched his latest bid for the GOP presidential nomination, he voted with Bush 95 percent of the time." In fact, as the AP itself acknowledged in its statement of "Fact[]," McCain indeed did "vote[] with President Bush 90 percent of the time from January 20, 2001, to when Congress left Washington on its annual August recess, according to a study by Congressional Quarterly." And contrary to the AP's suggestion, in referencing McCain's voting record in 2005, neither Casey nor Rendell asserted that McCain was "always a staunch Bush backer" -- though McCain did vote with Bush 89 percent of the time or more in each of the other years of the Bush presidency, reaching 95 percent consistency with Bush in 2007.

In her August 27 AP "FactCheck" article, headlined "FactCheck: Claims omit details on McCain's record," Darlene Superville wrote:

The shotgun-style charges Democratic National Convention speakers fired at Republican Sen. John McCain Tuesday night weren't necessarily half-truths. But in some instances, they weren't the whole story either.

Some examples of who said what -- and what they left out:

[...]

SEN. ROBERT CASEY JR. of PENNSYLVANIA: "John McCain calls himself a maverick, but he votes with George Bush 90 percent of the time. That's not a maverick. That's a sidekick."

RENDELL: "And guess who voted with President Bush 90 percent of the time? Sen. John McCain."

THE FACTS: McCain voted with President Bush 90 percent of the time from January 20, 2001, to when Congress left Washington on its annual August recess, according to a study by Congressional Quarterly. But McCain wasn't always a staunch Bush backer. In 2005, his support for Bush's position on legislation reached a low of 77 percent; last year, when he launched his latest bid for the GOP presidential nomination, he voted with Bush 95 percent of the time.

According to Congressional Quarterly, McCain's presidential support scores (the percentage of roll call votes on which he sided with Bush's position) for each completed individual year of Bush's presidency are:

—D.C.P.