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Ear to the Ground

Bad News for Birthers: The Long Form

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Posted on Apr 27, 2011
White House

President Obama has released his long-form birth certificate in an attempt to end “birtherism” once and for all.

Potential GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump, who has hounded Obama about his birthplace in recent weeks, immediately moved to take credit. The “birther” movement began as a small and persistent one during Obama’s candidacy, but has become a mainstream issue for Republicans. Recent polls show about half of GOP voters think Obama was born outside the U.S.  —KDG

New York Times:

In a statement to the news media Wednesday morning, Mr. Obama said he decided to release the document in an effort to end the “silliness” about his birth that threatened to distract from the serious issues facing the country.

“Over the last two and a half years, I have watched with bemusement,” he said in brief remarks. “I’ve been puzzled by the degree to which this thing just kept on going.”

Mr. Obama said there would be a “segment of people for which, no matter what we put out, this issue will not be put to rest.” But he said that he was “speaking to the vast majority of the American people as well as to the press. We do not have time for this kind of silliness.”

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Blackspeare's avatar

By Blackspeare, April 28, 2011 at 7:03 am Link to this comment

Maani…

Interesting theory about the release of his birth certificate to move Trump to the forefront, but sometimes you have to take a politician at his word and he did it just to get the issue off the table.  However, Obama is wily enough to know that he has only one competitor and that is the economy.  If the economy stays even by November 2012, then Obama wins his second term.  Even his foreign adventures won’t matter because the all volunteer military assuages any dissent——as you noticed the anti-war movement can gain no traction. On the other hand, if the economy tanks then even Crusader Rabbit could win the race!

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Robert's avatar

By Robert, April 27, 2011 at 6:31 pm Link to this comment

MOSSAD WAS INVOLVED IN 9/11…NO DOUBT ABOUT IT !!!


On 9/11 Israelis working for the Mossad were arrested:


1) Celebrating the attack “The High Fivers”.

2) Trying to blow up the George Washington Bridge & tons of explosives found in their white van.

3) Blowing up a van on King Street near 6th & 7th.


~~~~~~

Click on link to view video with Dan Rather and other news staff reporting on 9/11:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Jfu0nVjjs0&feature=related

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mackTN's avatar

By mackTN, April 27, 2011 at 6:12 pm Link to this comment

This is a sad day, a horrible event for the United States.  The president of the
United States, the leader of the Free World, actually succumbed to the Racists
and showed his papers to prove his legitimacy.  No other president has ever
been degraded in this fashion, not even George W. Bush ever felt cowed into
producing his military records or college transcripts, despite his being called a
fraud and an idiot for 8 years. 

We all know that this document will not satisfy anybody who believed the
nonsense in the first place.  It’s like trying to prove that there was actually a
Jewish holocaust or that we did walk on the moon.  But this is worse because of
the historical basis when “the blacks” as Trumps refers to African Americans
were required to produce their papers to patrollers in order to travel between
plantations.

I really wish he hadn’t done this.  It legitimizes racist aggression though never
satisfies it.  Further, the issue isn’t about birth records anyway, as everyone can
see, The protean nature of this issue, the fact that the birth certificate will
morph into a “citizenship” issue, then a college credentials issue, clearly
demonstrates that the source of this hostile skepticism derives from Racist
people who cannot accept a black man as president.  We should be past—
black people should be past—proving their legitimacy as Americans. What if I
initiated a hue and cry about Hillary Clinton’s true gender and demanded that
she take a saliva test to prove that she was actually a woman?  Where does this
stop?

We have allowed our country to be defined by the most stupid among us.  We
have not only insulted the president but other black Americans and amazingly
try to cover it up by calling it something other than it is.  Oh, they are not
racists, they are birthers, they are just intensely loyal Americans all of whom
have wonderful relations with “the blacks,”  they are just bullies. 

I suggest every member of Congress produce their birth certificate as well,
including their baptismal or brist records, their college transcripts, and at least
3 college essays.  What’s good for one is good for all. 

The president goes to far in placating these haters.  I wish just once he’d tell
them to kiss his black ass.

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By Kath Cantarella, April 27, 2011 at 4:14 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

I’m blushing with embarrassment for the USA. Obama has the dignity to offer this with a weary grace but the people who required him to do it are so far beneath dignity that in any sane country they’d be so far out on the fringes they wouldn’t have the weight to bring this about. But the same thing was happening in Weimar Berlin last century.

There are parts of the USA that only deserve a president like Bush. When you get a president like Obama you act towards him like flesh-eating trolls.

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By Rodney, April 27, 2011 at 3:34 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Not since the 1960’s have I seen the level of hate
and racism directed towards a black man. The level of
hate equals or surpasses the hate directed at Martin
Luther King. He ain’t one of us. He has a Kenyan
world view.He wasn’t born here. No other President
was subjected to that level of racism. He had to show
it to prove it. And the racists still won’t believe
it! What no one wants to talk about is the kind of
black man Barack Obama is. His father is black and
his mother is white. That boils the blood and creates
hate to the point that most racist can barely
contain. They are beside themselves. If his father
were white and mother was black or both of his
parents were black, they would still hate him but it
would be a little more palatable. If he in turn
married a white woman he be dead by now.I suspect
many of the Republicans will choose not to rum
because they can’t control themselves. They fear
their campangn rallies may turn into Klan rallies.
Especially Halle Barbour. Hopefully the race baiting
will die down. At least for most of us.

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By Maani, April 27, 2011 at 3:02 pm Link to this comment

AnnaCatherine:

“Timing is everything! The President appears to have waited until the Birthers gained all the steam that was possible. The Republicans are looking bad and the Tea Party even worse. What better time to shut them up. Trump had little or nothing to do with it.”

Actually, I would disagree.  I think Obama knew EXACTLY what he was doing by releasing it in such a way as to allow Trump to claim almost singular credit for it.  Remember, politicians are wily, Obama no less than others.  It is entirely possible that he released the certificate for the very purpose of allowing Trump to take credit.  After all, this raises Trump’s profile - at the expense of all the other “real” GOP candidates who may represent much more genuine competition for Obama.

ITW:

The fact that your friend saw a plane fly into the WTC only disabuses the notion that there were no planes involved in 9/11.  It does absolutely nothing to dispel the possibility (some would say probability, if not fact) that 9/11 was an inside job, a false flag operation, in which individuals and agencies of the U.S. government were complicit.

Peace.

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Blackspeare's avatar

By Blackspeare, April 27, 2011 at 1:02 pm Link to this comment

This is an unacceptable document——there is no raised seal!!!

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By brennan, April 27, 2011 at 12:25 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

this is great news.. so now we can look forward to Trump releasing his Tax returns like he said he would do if Obama released his birth certificate..
Oh and I am really curious now to know what “Unbelievable” stuff his imaginary investigators were finding in Hawaii on their quest to find this certificate..

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By Inherit The Wind, April 27, 2011 at 11:19 am Link to this comment

The “Birthers” will come up with reasons to doubt the authenticity of THIS form as well.

Notice that many of them don’t believe that two planes crashed into the WTC, but that it’s some kind of phony cooked up by the MOSSAD and MOSSAD-controlled media…and that my old friend didn’t actually SEE the 2nd 767 hit the 2nd tower (yes, he did).

They also are Kennedy assassination conspiracy types—who still believe the crap about the magic dancing bullet (easily resolved by correcting the timing of the shots fired).

Then again, people still believe in the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, Jack Frost and the Great Pumpkin, not to mention that the Earth is flat.

Can’t help ‘em.  Delusional paranoia cannot be treated with logic.

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By AnnaCatherine, April 27, 2011 at 11:00 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Timing is everything! The President appears to have waited until the Birthers gained all the steam that was possible. The Republicans are looking bad and the Tea Party even worse. What better time to shut them up. Trump had little or nothing to do with it. The President made as many people look foolish as he possibly could. Well done!

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By doublestandards/glasshouses, April 27, 2011 at 10:56 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

If his mother had been a true red-blooded American she would have delivered the baby herself at home.  Apparently miss smarty pants didn’t want to bite through the umbilical cord.  Real Americans don’t need no stinkin doctors or hospitals.  That’s socalism.

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By Jorge X Rodriguez, April 27, 2011 at 10:15 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Why should the Birther thing stop now?  There was no reason for it in the first place; there is no reason for it now; there will be no reason for it in the future.  Reason is not of any interest to Birthers.

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By California Ray, April 27, 2011 at 10:13 am Link to this comment

Further investigation is needed.  Only persons born in the U.S.A. WITHOUT MEDICAL INTERVENTION are “natural born” citizens.  Let’s not let this controversy die out!  America needs more crazy Birthers.

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By thethirdman, April 27, 2011 at 10:12 am Link to this comment

He shouldn’t have released it.  He always seems weak to me, even with something
as silly as this.  What good does this do at all?  Anyone who thought he might not
have been born in America will still not vote for him.  Although I do wonder what
Trump will have to talk about now?

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By well informed, April 27, 2011 at 9:54 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

dont want to post my comment
i will never give you people another dollar again
i cant belive i was dumb enough to give people money the first place.

NEVER AGIAN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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By bpawk, April 27, 2011 at 9:52 am Link to this comment

Good thing the birther thing will now stop - there’s plenty of other real reasons to criticize Obama (his adoption of Bush-type policies - keeping troops in Arab countries, not taxing the rich enough, etc.).

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By Jimnp72, April 27, 2011 at 9:51 am Link to this comment

sorry it is mediamatters.org; and I doubt either of those women would be qualified to have AKC cert anyway.

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By Jimnp72, April 27, 2011 at 9:46 am Link to this comment

So Trump is a male sara palin, saying anything, regardless of its’ degree of idiocy, just to garner attention to himself as the spoiled child that he is.. maybe he should have plastic action figures made of himself, too. they would have to include the hair, of course.

so funny would be a debate between him and sara. Id even pay a little money to see something so rich.

Obama is right that Trump and his ilk ‘just go around making things up.’ this of course includes faux news.

check out mediamatterws.org for full coverage of daily faux shenanigans.

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By TDoff, April 27, 2011 at 9:24 am Link to this comment

If Michelle Bachmann or Sharron Angle, for example, were to ever achieve the presidency, should AKC papers be acceptable in lieu of a birth certificate?

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By gerard, April 27, 2011 at 9:17 am Link to this comment

Pathetic:  This country is signing its own death certificate day by day by promoting hugely reactive policies of government and business, yet more than enough stupid people are raising a ruckus over one official’s birth certificate!

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By well informed, April 27, 2011 at 9:01 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

looks awefully new too me
were’s the Original?
that is a brand new copy not original
Proves nothing
if they can issue fake passports ID to CIA
then they can fake Bith certifcates too

Were’s the BEEF!!!!

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