So let's review.
In June, 2008, right-wing bloggers questioned whether Barack Obama was really born in the United States.
Under increased pressure to fight the smears, the campaign released his birth certificate.
However, this was not enough - conspiracy theorists still claimed it was a fake, prompting the campaign to further debunk the rumors and bring in non-partisan FactCheck.org to verify it's authenticity.
Yada, yada, yada, the campaign continued with issue presented as fact, the election took place, and Barack Obama was elected President of the United States.
So why is the birther movement still gaining traction in the media?
Rush Limbaugh and CNN's Lou Dobbs have been spinning the story, which has been covered heavily by the media-yet journalists don't seem eager to quickly claim that these statements are baseless.
Wherein lies the problem. The conspiracy theorists, lead by Orly Taitz, enabled by the journalists mentioned above- are certifiably crazy, but are given airtime and a platform to spew nonsense. At least Rachael Maddow, following the lead of Jon Stewart, knows that these people are meant to be made fun of, while getting to the heart of what this birther madness is about.
Journalists are supposed to report the facts, not just report both sides of every debate even though they know one side is lying. It's misleading to viewers and ultimately can lead to scary, unhinged behaviour.
Irresponsible U.S Members of Congress who cannot answer the question of his birth are even worse.
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