More than 10 years have passed since I wrote this:

If a presidential candidate were to declare that the earth is flat, you would be sure to see a news analysis under the headline ”Shape of the Planet: Both Sides Have a Point.” After all, the earth isn’t perfectly spherical.

And it’s still true. Today we have an article entitled In Battle Over Health Law, Math Cuts Both Ways. So what’s the math that cuts in the Republicans’ favor? Well, they

complain that the projections omitted $115 billion in spending required to administer the law as well as $208 billion needed to prevent scheduled reductions in Medicare payments to doctors.

Ahem. The great bulk of that administrative spending would happen whether or not the health law goes into effect; and all of the “doc fix” will happen regardless of the health reform. Both of these complaints have been hashed over at length, being thoroughly refuted; these are zombie lies. But you’d never know that from the reporting.