At the Washington Post, Glenn Kessler and Michelle Ye Hee Lee have attempted – and failed – to rigorously fact-check the 12th GOP debate. Kessler and Lee note that Donald Trump made the following statement in the debate: "[a]s an example, GDP was zero essentially for the last two quarters." The WaPo columnists then attempt to claim that "[t]his is wrong. The gross domestic product – the broadest measure of the economy – increased at a rate of 1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2015 and 2 percent in the third quarter, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. That's not great, but it's better than zero." This is sloppy language, and Trump's statement is correct. During Q3 and Q4 in 2015, real GDP growth was just 0.49% and 0.25%, respectively – or "zero essentially" as Trump stated.  The annual compounded rate of growth, a very different metric, was 1-2% for this period. For the more relevant...(Read Full Post)