LOOK AT WHAT THE DEMOCRATS SAID

The claim on job creation: "Four years ago, America stood on the brink of a depression. Despite incredible odds and united Republican opposition, our president took action. And now we've seen 4.5 million new jobs." San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro

The facts: Castro takes a debatable talking point from the Obama campaign -- that 4.5 million private-sector jobs have been created since February 2010 (a year after the president's stimulus bill was passed into law) -- and makes it ridiculous. This statistic includes only private-sector jobs, which means the decline in government jobs is excluded. Total jobs created in the United States from February 2010 is 4 million -- and it is still negative if you start counting from the beginning of Obama's presidency. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, job creation in Obama's entire presidency is minus 300,000 or plus 160,000, depending on whether you date his presidency from January or February.

Also, the U.S. population keeps growing, meaning the economy has to keep creating more than 100,000 jobs each month just to keep pace. By that measure, Obama is in a hole no matter when you start counting.

The claim on Medicare: "Instead of the Medicare guarantee, Republicans would give seniors a voucher that limits what's covered, costing seniors as much as $6,400 more a year." Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius

The facts: The Democrats love to use the phrase "voucher" for a concept that is actually known as "premium support." The government would still continue to pay much of the premiums for plans that meet government muster.

Moreover, note that Sebelius says the plan by Rep. Paul Ryan, the Republican vice presidential nominee, could cost "as much as" $6,400 more a year. Always watch out when a politician uses a term like "as much as" because that often means the real figure is much less.

The problem is this dollar figure is an estimate for an earlier version of Ryan's plan. He's since changed it significantly to address some of the loudest complaints. The new version of the plan includes the option for traditional Medicare, as well as a commitment that at least one health-care option would be fully covered by the government.

The new plan is much more generous than the original version. The old plan had capped growth at the rate of inflation. Many experts believed that was too low and pushed more costs on beneficiaries. In the updated Ryan plan, Medicare spending would be permitted to grow slightly faster than the nation's economy - in fact, at the same growth rate as Obama's budget for Medicare.

Beneficiaries might still face higher costs, depending on how well the system worked. But that might also be the case if nothing more is done to improve Medicare's finances.

The claim about Romney's job record: "In Massachusetts, we know Mitt Romney. By the time he left office, Massachusetts was 47th in the nation in job creation." Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick

The facts: This is a common Obama campaign talking point, but Patrick's phrasing ("by the time he left office") makes it especially inaccurate. The 47th ranking is the average for Romney's entire term, when in fact Massachusetts started out at 50th place and ended up at 28th by the end of Romney term.

Romney's economic record is certainly mixed, but a governor -- especially a one-term governor -- is very much at the mercy of broader economic trends.

WASHINGTON POST