"Iraq is costing each household about $100 a month."

Barack Obama on Thursday, March 20th, 2008 in a speech in Charleston, W.Va.

So, I went to Politifact.com to find out if that was true. Here's what I found out:

Yes, families pay more for Iraq war than cable. It's True.

The cost of the Iraq war has often been expressed in billions or trillions, numbers so big and abstract they remind us of Carl Sagan's description of the universe (“billions and billions of stars…”).

The candidates have cited alternative uses for the war money, saying it would have been better spent on health coverage for the uninsured (Sen. Hillary Clinton) or on more school teachers (Sen. Barack Obama).

In a speech on March 20, 2008, Obama took a different approach and emphasized the personal cost of the war.

“When Iraq is costing each household about $100 a month, you’re paying a price for this war,” he said in the speech in Charleston, W.Va.

At $100 per month, the war cost to each U.S. household would be more than cable TV (average bill: $58), but less than a car payment (average bill: $400-500).