Players: Editor and CEO of WorldNetDaily Joseph Farah; Salon
Reporter, Justin Elliott. WorldNetDaily published a series of
articles in 2009 claiming that President Obama had spent nearly
$2 million in legal fees to keep the truth about his birth
certificate hidden from the public. The number was brought up
this week by potential presidential candidates Donald Trump and
Sarah Palin as proof of their speculation about President's
nationality.  Opening Serve: This week, Elliott argued at Salon
that the $2 million claim is a false statistic created by
WorldNetDaily. "The implication of the WND stories -- though not
explicitly stated -- is that because Perkins Coie worked on a
birther suit, and because the Obama campaign paid Perkins Coie
$1.7 million, therefore the campaign paid $1.7 million fighting
birther suits. That's an obvious logical fallacy," wrote
Elliott. "Yes, it's clear that the Obama campaign has spent some
money fighting so-called eligibility lawsuits. But the $2
million figure is baseless."  Return