Pro tip: if you want to be taken seriously as a fact checker, maybe you should avoid writing absolutely ridiculous articles like this one: The White House’s Curious Silence About Obama’s Claim of Skeet Shooting.

Yes, Washington Post fact checker Glenn Kessler actually seems to believe this is an important issue, or at least important enough to pander to the right wing crackpots who think the President lies about everything and anything.

Today the White House released a photo to prove that yes, President Obama really has done skeet shooting at Camp David, and how pathetic is it that this is even necessary at all?

Click to enlarge

Would you believe this still isn’t good enough for Glenn Kessler?

UPDATE, Feb. 2: The White House released this photograph of the president at the Camp David skeet range on Aug. 4, 2010. We are pleased the White House has become more forthcoming about this matter, though it does not quite answer the questions concerning the president’s ‘all the time’ language. What do readers think?

Good grief.

By the way, ace fact checker Glenn Kessler got the date of the photo wrong in his post. The caption at the White House Flickr page:

President Barack Obama shoots clay targets on the range at Camp David, Md., Saturday, Aug. 4, 2012.

Meanwhile, Breitbart.com moron John Nolte is still ranting away about “Skeet-Gate.” Yes, really. They’ve made it into a -Gate.

MEDIA FOLLOWS OBAMA’S ORDERS TO MOCK SKEET-GATE SKEPTICS!!!

For example, Obama is attempting to grab more power for The State and criminals by way of gun control laws that infringe on our Second Amendment civil rights. In order to make his case, Obama is attempting to appear reasonable on the issue of guns, and one way he did this was to reassure Americans that he too is a sport shooter, and enjoys skeet shooting at Camp David.

Now, to those familiar with Obama’s record of opposing guns at every turn and lying about almost everything, that struck us as odd.

Today, however, the White House released a photo that purports to show Obama (love that tucked-in shirt) shooting skeet last August. Except… he’s shooting straight ahead, which means that there’s either a barn door somewhere in need of some patching, or Obama is such an awesome skeet shooter, he hits them as they come out of the firing device.

I keed, I keed. There are legitimate reasons that would explain the angle of his gun, but….

Because the photo is odd, some are asking perfectly legitimate questions.

But not the media.

Ladies and gentlemen, the conservative movement in all its sad, batshit insane glory.

Can we call them “Skeeters” now?

After being most severely mocked throughout the Interwebs, Glenn Kessler has updated his post again. Apparently, he’s now satisfied that President Obama was not telling heinous lies.

UPDATE: As one might expect, there is a vast partisan divide on this, with some readers upset that we did not immediately change our ruling because the president released a photo, as we had requested in our original post. We try not to make snap judgements, but readers argued we had moved the goal posts. So we now have a photo, a news report quoting an anonymous that the president participated in a Marine guard competition and a news report quoting Obama that he has practiced with the Secret Service. The issue is settled, and we award the president a Geppetto Checkmark.

A “Gepetto Checkmark” for the president. I’m sure he’ll cherish it always.