Can Random House and Obama Be Sued? Ask Arista Records and Milli Vanilli

If Barack Obama didn't actually write Dreams from My Father himself, could Random House and Obama be sued on behalf of consumers? I'm not a lawyer, so I wouldn't venture to say. However, the case of the early '90s rock act Milli Vanilli might offer some precedent. Here a promoter created a sound with certain performers, but since he didn't like their stage presence, he hired other performers to act as a front. The act became very successful (like Barack Obama they won a Grammy) but a technical malfunction during a "live" performance revealed that the guys on stage were lip-synching. Evidently the country wasn't ready for Milli Vanilli in the White House, since the media made much hue and cry about the deception, and the promoter eventually confessed. In the aftermath at least 26 lawsuits were filed on behalf of consumers (according to the Wikipedia article linked above) and substantial damages were awarded.

In principle the cases of Milli Vanilli and Dreams would appear to be similar, if it could be shown that Obama was not the author of Dreams, which I deem reasonably suspected. In the Milli Vanilli case the promoter's confession made things easy for consumers and their advocates; but one doubts that Barack Obama will put the interests of consumers ahead of the royalties he's collecting. Anyone concerned about whether a President Obama will redistribute wealth need only consider how much wealth author Obama has redistributed from consumers into his own swollen bank accounts.