observed, Sen. Ted Kennedy's (D-MA) temporary replacement wasn't sworn in until Sept. 24 of 2009, giving Democrats a filibuster-proof majority for four months and one week until Republican Scott Brown filled Kennedy's seat after a special election.

"The claim that Obama ruled like a monarch over Congress for two years — endlessly intoned as a talking point by Republicans — is more than just a misremembering of recent history or excited overstatement," the Chicago Tribune's Eric Zorn wrote. "It's a lie."

"It's meant to represent that Obama's had his chance to try out his ideas, and to obscure and deny the relentless GOP obstructionism and Democratic factionalism he's encountered since Day One," he explained. "They seem to figure if they repeat this often enough, you'll believe it."