Bad News for Birthers: The Long Form

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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