Before "You lie!" loses its news value and simply becomes the "Don't tase me, bro!" of 2009, let's at least examine whether U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson was correct when he very publicly accused President Barack Obama of fudging the facts about health care reform.

The South Carolina Republican's outburst during the Democratic president's address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday was in response to Obama's assurance that the health care legislation being proposed by the administration would not provide coverage for illegal immigrants. "YOU LIE!," Wilson bellowed in response, shocking virtually everyone in the House chamber and in homes across America, and causing the congressman's fellow Republicans in the room to cringe with embarrassment.

Obama was, in fact, telling the truth. The basis for Wilson's accusation is that several Republican-sponsored amendments calling for assurances that illegal aliens will not be afforded benefits under any federal health care policy have been rejected by the Democrats who control Congress. But that's nowhere near the same as ensuring coverage for illegal aliens, and Wilson knows it. And so do all the loudmouths on Fox News and right-wing radio who spent most of Thursday trying to defend this guy and elevate him to conservative folk hero status.

Too bad all of them, shall we say, failed to accurately express the facts.