10:29 am April 27, 2011, by Kyle Wingfield
We finally have the birth certificate — I hope no one has to ask “whose birth certificate?” — long form and all.
So, there you have it.
Do I think this will end the debate? No, because conspiracy theorists generally aren’t persuaded by evidence. This was a ridiculous “debate” in the first place, and I expect it to become simply more ridiculous from here on. In fact, I think this may be good politically for President Obama, because the birthers will seem even crazier now.
As for Donald Trump: The potential presidential candidate is claiming the birth-certificate release as a scalp because he was the one who made a (kind of) mainstream issue of it. I disagree. How does it add luster to a candidate to make an issue of something that turns out to be much ado about nothing?
– By Kyle Wingfield
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171 comments Add your comment
Aquagirl
April 27th, 2011
7:08 pm
Tech Man
April 27th, 2011
2:28 pm
I agree on 24/7 news/opinion pushing ridiculous stories to fill time.
That being said it’s a shame Obama is forced to react to Trump rather than the news media.
That is akin to the Mayor of Atlanta having to respond to NeNe and Sharie rather than AJC.
————
Tech man, grow some. I understand the Hills Are Alive With The Sound Of Back-Pedaling today. But don’t pull a Palin. Don’t mutter and posit your coy little “isn’t it strange he won’t show the long form?” snipes for years, and then claim you’re not involved, of course you knew all along it wasn’t an issue, and why is Obama trying to distract us from the important stuff anyway?
If you thought Obama needed to show further proof, and someone should have been investigating, own up to your birtherism. Be proud.
BTW, I go potty mouth on people who say “Some of my best friends are black, BUT….” Likewise for guys like you who say “I’m not a birther, BUT….”
Contemptible weak-kneed people shouldn’t expect floral speeches. Deal with it.
Bill
April 27th, 2011
7:08 pm
Linda, Obama didn’t come forward sooner because no other candidate in history that I’m aware of in the U.S. ever had to produce a birth certificate. And, given that there wasn’t a shred of evidence that he was not born in the U.S. The WH knows this is all racially driven. Let the crazy right-wingers rant a few years then look incredibly stupid.
Vann Jones got booted too didn’t he?
From the 911Truther idiots I’ve seen in documentaries, etc., I haven’t seen any liberals, but rather crank libertarian types. Of course, C. McKinney was a crazy member.
Linda
April 27th, 2011
7:20 pm
Aquagirl@6:17, Apparently you did not read what I wrote. Hillary Clinton started the birther rumor. I was never a birther, assuming if there was anything to it, that Hillary & Bill would have gotten to the bottom of it. I bet they are laughing their heads off today.
I don’t know if it was Trump or the polls that finally forced Obama to prove himself today. According to a recent USA Today poll, only 38% of Americans believed that Obama was definitely born in the US. By Obama not being transparent, as he promised for 3 yrs., he let this rumor fester & boil. The other 62% of Americans MUST have included tons of Democrats & Independents who voted for Obama.
As for Van Jones, your interpretation of his apology was different from mine.
I didn’t sign the 9/11 petition because I disagreed with it, but I have no reason to question the 9/11 org.’s responsibility, ability or methods to authenticate their petition. I do question Van Jones’ denial of his signing a 2004 petition 5 years later in 2009.
I will say the same thing to you that I have said to numerous liberals, whose strategy is to slander conservatives. I am not, nor will not be intimidated by your & your kind. As a matter of fact, you & yours embolden the right & the conservatives. Just keep it up. We know your tactics & if you were really as smart as you think you are, you would realize that they did not work in 2010, are not working in 2011 & will not work in 2012.
Evidently, you & Sarah Palin agree that fighting “like a girl” is a winning strategy. I prefer to fight like a lady. I hope that you will eventually acquire a little decency, understand the difference between girls/women & ladies & clean up your mouth.
Tech Man
April 27th, 2011
7:24 pm
Aquagirl
April 27th, 2011
7:08 pm
That is not saying that I demand he produce his birth certificate.
Again’ Ms. Pottymouth you twist to fit your preconceived rants.
Try again.
Tech Man
April 27th, 2011
7:31 pm
“isn’t it strange he won’t show the long form?”
Please show us where I used their words.
Again more pottymouthed blathering.
Rafe Hollister
April 27th, 2011
7:41 pm
For something they said they considered settled long ago, the lefties sure seemed relieved and overjoyed that they were right. Was there a question in their subconscious?
Donald the Big Mouth Buffoon
April 27th, 2011
7:45 pm
When did this country certify Barack Hussein Obama the II of Jr. as president???? See I proved the Barack Hussein Obam was born in Kenya.
Linda
April 27th, 2011
7:46 pm
hsn@6:55, If I am a birther, then you are a girther. Do you spend your time around horses & donkeys?
Hillary & Bill are laughing their heads off tonight.
Do you really think Obama was so intimidated by Trump & the birthers, whoever they are, that he produced his papers today, after 3 yrs. of requests?
He finally requested & produced them because only 38% of the American people believed he was born in the US, according a recent poll in USA Today. Are the other 62% “loony right buddies” that have “egg all over” their “faces?”
captguitarman
April 27th, 2011
7:59 pm
Well, the President’s release of his long form birth certificate today has resulted in some pretty lively conversation — with the BS and “opinions presented as facts” pretty high on both sides. Just for the record, I consider myself a moderate “mainstrean Republican” (a centrist Pub leaning right – where many experts say the majority of Americans are now hanging out politically these days — with libs and looney libs at about 20% of the electorate — but they control he media and they are very vocal and clearly enlightened and smarter than every one else – just ask them, they’ll tell you), and neither I, nor numerous other Pubs I know ever bought into the Birther nonsense. Obviously, some poor misguided Pub souls did. Trump, a very smart guy, used it to get attention and to promote himself (an art that he has more than perfected). And, who knows if he ever really believed it at all? There’s a good possibility he is laughing up his sleeve right now, because the strategy obviously worked, and now he takes the credit for forcing the big revelation. His name has only been mentioned (good, bad, or ugly) about a thousand times in these posts. If he actually does believe it – a possibility – then he is clearly not as smart as I thought. Boehner is the big disapointment to me. Cantor came right out when asked point blank, and said it was nonsense, and Boehner punted — Of course, he tells people what to think every day, that’s a big part of his job — again, a big disappointment. I hated this stupid Birther nonsense primarily because it gave the Dems and libs a plausible rationale to play the race card — the card they live to play anyway, and especially when their intellectual arguments aren’t working or winning in the market place of ideas. And how they love to play it (these posts are chock full of it), blissfully ingoring the fact that without almost 50% of the white vote, Obama never would have been elected President in the first place. Yes, “racist” the magic word that ends every reasoned, logical, and intellectual argument you may be in the midst of losing a the moment. “Well, uh, uumm, I mean, well, uhh, gosh, uhh, ummm . . . well, that just proves your a racist.” End of discussion. No doubt there were those Birthers who had racist motivations and attitudes. No reasonable person would deny that fact. But, I think the “facts” as stated by all of these arm chair political experts and pundits in these posts, that the Birthers just took over the party leadership and over ran the entire Republican party, so the Pubs are all crazy and should not vote in the next election, etc. (wishful thinking by the 20% noted above) might be just a “slight” exaggeration. I saw that some Fox News hating Dem/lib “expert” on a post for Wingfield’s, or maybe Bookman’s column, who clearly never watches Fox News, demanded an apology from the network over the Birther issue. Obviously, he did not know that O’Reilly (and Fox News as an organization) has been saying for months that Obama was born in Hawaii and the Birther issue was nonsense. Facts can just be so inconvenient.
Linda
April 27th, 2011
8:24 pm
Bill@7:08, “…no other candidate is history…in the US ever had to produce a birth certificate” might or might not be accurate. Why not DEMAND proof of credentials for all offices?
I’ve always submitted a copy of my resume for jobs to clients, without being asked. Even though Obama’s resume was deficient, I would have thought he would have gladly submitted his basic qualifications for the presidency of the US 3 yrs. ago.
Since the recent polls (USA Today) indicate that only 38% of Americans believe that Obama was born in the US, do you believe that the other 62% of Americans are racists?
Hillary Clinton started the rumor. Sorry you think she is racist.
Perhaps you need to refresh your memory of the 9/11 truthers. I’ve already cited a site above. Signers included Code Pink founders Medea Benjamin & Jodi Evans.
Linda
April 27th, 2011
8:56 pm
Kyle, when I read your blog this morning, I thought you would have to start a new stream this afternoon, that few people would have an interest. I was wrong.
The left is emboldened with Obama’s singular credible evidence that he is qualified to be the president of the US! I say, “Finally!” “What took you so long?”
do-dah do-dah
April 27th, 2011
9:16 pm
He won in a landslide over the favored white, republican candidate. Most of the good little southern republicans have never accepted that fact- and it is a fact. There apparently is nothing that he can do or say that they will agree with. But then of course there is no racism there- right?
do-dah do-dah
April 27th, 2011
9:19 pm
One more thing that I omitted- care to guess how many of my southern baptist brethren cannot accept those facts and do not see the danger in their hatred toward this man and the commandments of Jesus?.
Linda
April 27th, 2011
9:47 pm
do-dah@9:16, Landslide? Obama would not have been elected without the white vote. Does calling the white voters racists who voted for Obama in 2008 who now disagree with his policies intimidate them into voting for Obama again in 2012 or run them off?
Linda
April 27th, 2011
10:09 pm
do-dah@ 919, I’m also a Christian. For the life of me, I can’t find anywhere in the Bible where “this man” is following the commandments of Jesus. Perhaps you have gotten Jesus & Robbin Hood mixed up.
SnottyNozeBratt
April 27th, 2011
10:39 pm
It took over two years to make certain they paid off the appropriate people, the fact that you declare anyone who disagrees as “mad” just makes it more and more like the “Big Lie”.
For those who unfamiliar – that was lies so insane put forth for the political agenda of hitler and his supporters that were too over the top to believe …. two years for the richest and most powerful people in the world to produce a birth certificate?
Now someone needs to look into how many people in hawaii disappeared since then AND the bank accounts of those still in power.
So much less about madness than being willing to be swept up into believing anything the media declares as truth rather than what they offer for your consideration as possible truth.
Articles with titles that provide you with an assumption before your browse some data ought always to be questioned.
C
April 27th, 2011
11:55 pm
Kyle, you’re so very right. If President Obama … say walked on water, …. some special interest group out there would be complaining, blogging, etc. about him not being able to swim…. What! They didn’t teach him that at Harvard?! Of course, it would be dubbed “The Non-Swimmer Issue”. The madness.
ann
April 28th, 2011
9:33 am
We are not an autocratic society where the “powers that be” dictate what we should think. We are a democratic society where you can express what you feel. Which also means we can choose whomever we want to listen to but when we are so myopic in our views listening to only those who look like us and never allowing ourselves a different viewpoint – it’s bigotry. Whites like Trump choose to believe that Mr. Obama’s Presidency is somehow not legitimate and what drives these notions is racism. What else can it be?
Deadrick
April 28th, 2011
10:23 am
What a bunch of low class idiots! If you actually thought that the President of the United States was put into office without being vetted, then you are stupid beyond comprehension. Now you site here and blame Pres. Obama for this whole mess because he didn’t meet you ignorant demands that was actually meet before the Presidential campaign. Just go crawl back up under your rock where you come from!
Deadrick
April 28th, 2011
10:56 am
@captguitarman …….Its sad that you had to type a darn essay to get your point across.(A misguided point at that!) Just because someone voted for Pres. Obama, does not mean that you can not be a racist or at best take racist actions or have bigoted opinions. Its very foolish and ignorant for you to assume its not possible. For you to type so much ans say so little is really sad. If race is not a factor then why is threats against the President Obama gone up 400% versus the most unpopular President in American history?(I’m talking about Bush if you are too stupid to get the point). Why was he basically forced to show his BC to the American public(which has never been done before in American history) even after knowing he had to be vetted by the CIA before he could he could even run for President? Just because O’reilly stated that he believed Pres Obama was born here does not mean that Fox News did not play into the issue as much as possible. I watched everyday as they allowed the speculation to continue without offering any of the evidence they had to the contrary. Now you try to disassociate yourself from the radical foolish Republicans when it suits you. Now they will either try and discredit the BC or they will find another issue to attach his legitimacy. Hilary Clinton used what she could to try and win an election, it does not make her a racist and it does not mean she is not one either(I don’t believe she is a racist). As much as you say black/libs play the race card, true racism is squashed just as much. For you to not acknowledge the true depth of racism in the country truly shows that you have either yet to grow up or you are just plain dumb.
George Bush
April 28th, 2011
1:17 pm
Chris Matthews…… Obama got in the same way the drunkin draft dodger Bush got in.As for who did pay the bill,I surely hope it was you,that is if you made enough money to pay any taxes.No his brother no longer lives in a hut.He is living in a condo that is being paid for by you Mr. taxpayer.You are one of the most ignorant a–holes to ever open thier mouth,and it shows.Have a nice day