There’s been a big brouhaha in the media in the days after President Obama’s address to a joint session of Congress in which he didn’t say anything new on the subject of health care. The faux outrage has centered on Rep. Joe Wilson’s (R-S.C.) outburst of “You lie!” to President Obama’s claim that Democrat health care reform plans wouldn’t cover illegal aliens.

For many in the mainstream media and the Democratic left (but I repeat myself) this was the most outrageous comment made on the floor of Congress in the history of the republic.

Unfortunately, their memories are short – and these things aren’t really tough to find.

Which is worse, charging the President of the United States with lying regarding a policy dispute or saying that the President delights in the deaths of American troops?

But all that’s beside the point. What about the substance of the argument?

As regular readers know, I’m unimpressed with the self-proclaimed “fact-checkers” at Politifact.com. The day after the President’s speech, Politifact.com determined that Rep. Wilson’s outburst was “False.”

But if you read Politifact.com’s actual “analysis,” it’s obvious that the charge is “True.”

One of the most detailed responses was from the anti-immigration group Federation for American Immigration Reform, called FAIR. You can read their statement on the matter on their Web site.

Primarily, they argue that illegal immigrants would be permitted to purchase insurance on the national health insurance exchange because the bill does not include a mechanism for verifying citizenship. So illegal immigrants would have the chance to purchase insurance in the public option, a government-run health care plan that would offer basic coverage at a low price.

FAIR also argues for more robust verification measures for the affordability credit and making sure that illegal immigrant parents won't be able to receive coverage if their citizen children are eligible.

FAIR has a point that illegal immigrants would likely be able to buy insurance on the national health insurance exchange. We don't see anything in the bills that would hinder that. A Congressional Research Service report issued Aug. 25, 2009, confirmed our observation. The House bill "does not contain any restrictions on noncitzens participating in the Exchange — whether the noncitizens are legally or illegally present, or in the United States temporarily or permanently," the report said.

After acknowledging that the public option, as it was crafted on Wednesday and Thursday, would benefit illegal aliens, Politifact.com then tells you to ignore that inconvenient fact.

The best argument that we find that health reform would help illegal immigrants is that some might be able to purchase the public option — if it passes, and it might not — on the new health insurance exchange. They would purchase that at full cost. Obama said, "The reforms I’m proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally," which Wilson said was a "lie." Actually, Obama can make a pretty thorough case that reform doesn't apply to those here illegally. We don't find the public option argument enough to make the case that Obama "lied." We rate Wilson's statement False. [emphasis added]

And with that statement, we find Politifact.com’s bias confirmed and status as an independent referee forfeit.

Late Friday, Politifact.com’s dishonesty was highlighted when the White House, in a customary pre-weekend document dump, changed its position in response to Wilson’s outburst.

The question, as we all know, arises from the Wilson "You lie" outburst, and the core claim that notwithstanding specific bill language barring illegal immigrants from participating in the "exchange," as a practical matter, there is no way of verifying the citizenship of applicants -- which is the current state of play. Republicans say that then means illegal immigrants would end up being enrolled in plans -- bill language or no bill language.

Today, for the first time as far as we know, the administration is backing a provision that would require proof of citizenship before someone could enroll in a plan selected on the exchange.

But apparently Wilson’s still the liar, not the President.