Five Thirty Eight wrote:
... some candidates have fared better than others. Over 60 percent of Representative Michele Bachmann’s statements were ruled either False (“The statement is not accurateâ€) or Pants on Fire (“The statement is not accurate and makes a ridiculous claim). Herman Cain and former Senator Rick Santorum didn’t fare any better, although both have not had that many grades given to them.
At the other end of the spectrum lie Representative Ron Paul, former Utah Gov. Jon M. Huntsman Jr. and Mr. Romney. Mr. Huntsman garnered the most favorable grades, but has had few claims evaluated. Mr. Paul did particularly well relative to the other candidates, earning an unambiguous True verdict for almost a third of his statements and a Mostly True for almost another third.
At the other end of the spectrum lie Representative Ron Paul, former Utah Gov. Jon M. Huntsman Jr. and Mr. Romney. Mr. Huntsman garnered the most favorable grades, but has had few claims evaluated. Mr. Paul did particularly well relative to the other candidates, earning an unambiguous True verdict for almost a third of his statements and a Mostly True for almost another third.
Of course, he acknowledges the sampling bias inherent in the underlying data, and several people imply a grading bias on the part of PolitiFact in the comments (my favorite is this one: "Remember, reality has a well-known liberal bias."). Still, this seems to be a fairly accurate representation of my own feelings on the GOP candidates.
Nate Silver; shine on, you crazy diamond.