BLACK CAUCUS FOLLOW-UP. Kerry did blow it on the Congressional Black Caucus, according to this analysis by FactCheck.org. Some of this stuff, though, is nitpicking and even a little misleading. For instance:

• "Kerry wrongly claimed Bush 'hasn't met with the Black Congressional Caucus.' He garbled the organization's name, for one thing. It's actually the Congressional Black Caucus, made up of 39 African-American members of the House." Well, excuse me!
• "Kerry twice claimed 1.6 million jobs have been lost under Bush, which is 1 million too high." Actually, Kerry meant to say that 1.6 million private-sector jobs have been lost. FactCheck is being accurate but misses the point.
• "Kerry claimed Bush 'has taken a $5.6 trillion surplus and turned it into deficits as far as the eye can see.' But the country never actually had a $5.6 trillion surplus. The projected surplus Kerry was referring to was a 10-year figure that was already made dubious by a weakening economy and a pent-up Congressional urge to spend. The largest annual surplus actually realized was $236 billion in fiscal year 2000, which ended a month before Bush was elected." This is wrong? Not by my accounting.

In theory, truth-testing the candidates' claims is a great idea. In practice, it's surprising what a subjective exercise it really is.

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