Yo birthers, you asked for it and now you’ve got it. Donald Trump’s statement to follow, no doubt. Want to bet that it won’t appease the Tea Party rabble?
In 2008, in response to media inquiries, the President’s campaign requested his birth certificate from the state of Hawaii. The state sent the campaign the President’s birth certificate, the same legal documentation provided to all Hawaiians as proof of birth in state, and the campaign immediately posted it on the internet. That birth certificate can be seen here (PDF).
When any citizen born in Hawaii requests their birth certificate, they receive exactly what the President received. In fact, the document posted on the campaign website is what Hawaiians use to get a driver’s license from the state and the document recognized by the Federal Government and the courts for all legal purposes. That’s because it is the birth certificate. This is not and should not be an open question.
The President believed the distraction over his birth certificate wasn’t good for the country. It may have been good politics and good TV, but it was bad for the American people and distracting from the many challenges we face as a country. Therefore, the President directed his counsel to review the legal authority for seeking access to the long form certificate and to request on that basis that the Hawaii State Department of Health make an exception to release a copy of his long form birth certificate. They granted that exception in part because of the tremendous volume of requests they had been getting. President Barack Obama’s long form birth certificate can be seen here (PDF):
This is going to just kill Jerome Corsi’s book sales.
Well, what the president really believed is that it was good to make critics look crazy. And now, Trump has moved the conversation from “birthers are crazy” to “what is he hiding?” A
And that was NOT good for Obama. At all.
I’ve always thought there was something there he was ashamed of (not something other people would necessarily object to, but that didn’t fit into his personal narrative). Looks like I was wrong!
Now we can go back to talking about more germane things, like what a horrible president he is.
Trump raised the “question” to a new level of what passes for “respectable” now. It probably won’t end the questions and accusations, of course.
That Obama is reportedly going to include comments about this in a press conference a bit later just adds to the political campaign circus.
And Taylor, obviously feel free to pull the earlier diary
Yeah, I saw this first thing this morning and thought anybody who had any doubts about this isn’t going to be convinced but it should put to rest any fence sitters on the issue.
World Net Daily responds with “Born in the USA? White House releases Obama ‘birth certificate’.” Just what you’d expect. I’m wondering if they didn’t have the frame of this piece in place, just waiting to drop in the immediate details. They quote Trump’s response:
“Real estate entrepreneur Donald Trump, a possible GOP Republican candidate in 2012, had been asking questions about Obama’s documentation for several weeks now.
“‘First we have to look at the certificate,’ he said. ‘I want to look at it, but I hope it’s true, so we can get to more important national issues.’
‘Why he didn’t do it when the Clintons asked for it. Why he didn’t do it when everyone else was asking about it, I don’t know,’ he said.
‘You’re going to have many people looking at it …. It’s amazing that all of a sudden it materializes. Experts will look at it … and I’m very proud that I was able to bring this to a point.’”
Mr. Obama has now put to rest the birther issue and at the same time shat all over the credibility of his defenders. What a day!
Also shat on Mr. Trump’s credibility because of his claim, just yesterday, that it was missing.
Victory for Trump – he managed to give this ridiculous issue credibility.
However, nothing will stop the right wing conspiracy theorist in the GOP. These people are crazy and Trump is their perfect ring leader – a clown with nothing to lose since everyone already knows he is eccentric at best and a whack job at worst.
On another note – I wish the mainstream media had spent as much time investigating / defending Bill and Hillary Clinton against the just-as-ridiculous “Clintons Murdered Vince Foster” charges of the 1990s. I know from many painful conversations that many republicans believed this to be true despite several investigations that decisively concluded that Mr. Foster committed suicide.
But the media was never one for defending the Clintons as they do Barack Obama. Chris Matthews was a raving Clinton basher who now spends all of his broadcast time in utter awe and defense of Barack Obama.
I don’t who makes me sicker – the right wing GOP nutcases or the mainstream media who saw it as their obligation to attack Hillary and elect Obama.
Regarding the Clinton Murder Conspiracies most in the African American community believe them to be true as well. For this I blame the media. It was never diffused in 2008 and continues to be discussed today.
Victory for Trump? You have got to be kidding me. He just got served a big glass of STFU. It’s been a real pleasure watching one Republican pretender after another step up to the klieg lights and self-immolate.
As The Beatnuts would say, there’s no escapin’ this.
On one level what you say is true but on the other level look at it like this: Trump got to Obama to produce those documents didn’t he?
This is what happens to people like Obama: you live by the media and you die by the media. Obama was a media sensation that the media has now tired of and when you don’t have any substance to sustain you, anything and everything can be turned into a media circus.
Yes, Trump got Obama to release the certificate. And the certificate proves that Trump is batshit crazy. He is going to drop this issue like a hot potato now. Well, he’ll try, but the media won’t let him. And they shouldn’t. He’ll want to pivot to China. But just ask him where those hideous ties of his are made. Game over.
Republicans are searching desperately for an Arthur to wield their Excalibur against Obama in 2012. But none so far is fit to pull the sword from the stone. Palin? Done. Bachmann? Done. Barbour? Quit. Romney and TPaw? Dead men walking. Trump? Hoist on his own petard. Huntsman? Please.
Can someone put out an alert for Zaladonis? He should be up to 40 comments by now, but there’s no sign of him. Curious…
No the media has taken the line that “Trump is declaring victory” because Obama has released the bc.
You obviously don’t see how angry the electorate is out here with Obama. And it’s not because of the bc certificate issue. You are conveniently forgetting Obama’s abysmal economic record. Just like Obama won by default in ’08 by “not being Bush” is the same way the GOP can win in ’12 by “not being Obama”. Winning by default can happen the other way too.
No the media has taken the line that “Trump is declaring victory” because Obama has released the bc.
That’s not a line, that’s an accurate description of Trump’s position. Trump is declaring victory. But the media is not proclaiming him victor.
The angry electorate is a separate issue. But as for the birth certificate, Trump got pwned. Now, of course, he’s trying to pivot to the school records. Because, of course, there’s no way Obama could have gotten into such prestigious schools. But the point of diminishing returns has been crossed.
You can stick a fork in dude – he’s done. The search for Arthur begins anew.
Just about anyone with any sense would have realized that Trump was “batshit crazy” just from the things he said about this issue. He can now spin this the way any conspiracy monger would – what was the President hiding? Clearly, this document is fake, there are still unanswered questions (nearly all of which are batshit crazy, of course), etc.
Sad to say, he probably did win this one.
He can now spin this the way any conspiracy monger would – what was the President hiding?
Don’t understand that comment. That was the argument that resonated before today, and was even made by a number of posters here. That fig leaf is now gone, because the answer is — nothing. Nothing to hide. No mention of Obama’s being born a Muslim. Or anything else damning, to the great chagrin of many.
I suppose it depends on what the meaning of “win” is. If it was for Obama to produce the COLB, Trump clearly won. If it was to prevail in (or at least sustain) the argument that Obama is unqualified on constitional grounds to be Prez, then homeboy got his behind handed to him.
I’m pretty confident Trump was after the latter objective. All spin notwithstanding, he’s done. And I’ll wager good money on it.
This is going to just kill Jerome Corsi’s book sales.
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Lol … Truer words were never spoken !
heh-heh… I knew someone would get it.
Anyone who continues to doubt the President’s citizenship should now be declared clinically insane. The President of the United States of America, on behalf of all Americans, now has an obligation to tell those lingering doubters to quietly go away and fuck off.
That’s nice but there’s still no hard evidence that Barack Obama was ever born.
Thank you for the smile this comment produced
HA! That’s about the size of it, Scott.
Victory for Trump – absolutely, because he got the White House to react to this nonsense and he dominated the headlines for weeks with this.
This is a very reactive White House (i.e. their pattern of compromise to avoid a fight) and they need to stiffen their spine, grow a pair (or at least one – maybe donated by Hillary since she has at least three) ignore the crazies and stop letting others (like Trump, Palin, etc.) dominate the agenda.
The Obama White House would never have survived Ken Starr.
c chicago, I have to agree with you as this is a Victory for Trump because he did get the White House to react to this and end the discussion. If Trump moves on to the economic issues the birth certificate issue goes away for him as well. This was becoming a problem for him with the GOP elite and now the nonsense can be put to rest on both sides.
glad the wh did this but of course its not about obama’s birth cert now is it? its about something much more sinister
I agree with Taylor. This will not appease the lunatic fringe. They’ll find some way to justify or rationalize their deeply held beliefs. The most we can hope for is that the media stops providing the oxygen. HA!
I also doubt that those who considered themselves “undecided” about this issue will learn anything from this experience either. Soon they may be taken in by some new right wing scam.
“The Science of Why We Don’t Believe Science” explains why: http://goo.gl/cxeCt
My take on this might be just a tad out of line with most but I think this just continues an unbroken record of bumbling ineptitude.
With every passing day these repugnantklan/teabaggers grew more shrill and more shit house rat(you know…the rats that live under the outhouse cause they LIKE it there?)crazy in their declarations and pronouncements regarding the President being born in Kenya to alien abduction and sexual experimantation resulting in his birth.
It would have been FAR better to let the crazies eat each other trying to outcrazy the other for their insane base through the primaries.
THEN once the BIG crazy had been picked and the real campaign underway UNLOAD IT ON THEM.
But NOOOOOOO. With his perfect record of utter politicol tobe deffness and ineptitude they do it now.
@Secular.
I agree.
Obama always reacts to bullying, to pressure, and to stupidity. He greases squeaky wheels instead of crushing them.
I’m afraid you’re probably right. I don’t see America suddenly becoming wise to conspiracy mongering, and all the nonsensical arguments of the trade. There are people who want to believe this nonsense, and nothing is going to stop them.
Doing anything other than explaining the obvious, and explaining what these people are doing, is the only way to contain the damage they’re doing.
Trump’s gullible audience will never believe the birth certificate is legitimate so the next part of the saga will be the ink spilled over how the document was forged.
My concern has always been–and remains–that BO doesn’t have the soul to represent the poor, the sick, the young, the old. His America is the Republican corporate world.
ROTFL. Let them continue. . . The show goes on. . .
Orly Taitz: Obama’s Long-Form Birth Certificate Should Say ‘Negro’ Not ‘African’ http://goo.gl/yIR2D
Trump: I solved the birth certificate mystery. Now, where’s your school records. http://goo.gl/7d0Ee
This wont stop the crazy, Trump included. I agree with c-chicago-Victory for Trump and the birthers. Lets not forget Trump is saying he now wants to see Pres Obamas’s college and Law School Transcripts and evidence about his admissions into Law School. It never stops. Will the WH release that info as well.
This is a politicaly stupid move by the Pres. He just legitimized the birthers with the response,, and helped the mainstream Repub Presidential candidates. As long as Trump and the birthers were taking up all the oxygen on the birth certificate issue no one was paying attention to the “real” candidates. If Pres Obama continues to respond and “answers’ the questions , the real candidates and issues will start to come into prominence. He’s doing the Repub Party’s job for them, eventually clearing the field for the real candidiates. Political stupidty. Why-eventually the vast majority of rational people in the electorate will come to ignore and rebuke the Repub candidate and party because of the crazies. Now the crazies will slowly be diminished as long as Pres Obama responds. The real Repub candidites can now say the issue is settled lets focus on real issues.
The Pres Statement that the issue was a distraction is dumb as a rock. It was only a distraction for the Repub Party and their base. Dems were laughing at it, and moderates paid it no mind. Who cares if the Repubs were distracted. Only Pres Obama in his juvenile quest for bipartisanship would help his opponent instead of taking the opportunity to crush his opponent.
This birther issue was always a political dance, a balancing act for both sides. There were advantages/disadvantages for the Republicans/Right and for the Obama/Democrats, just as long as it was in the background. Trump changed this balance and forced Obama to respond. But, in all reality it really doesn’t change anything.
Thank you guyski. You are right, it doesn’t change a thing – and there are many on TM who will continue to make it all about the election of 2008, whether its who received more attacks from the Republicans or why Hillary would have been so much better…it always about the Clintons.
elizabeth1949 – For accuracy sake only, because people are showing up out of the blue making wild accusations lately, “there are many on TM who will continue to make it all about the election of 2008″ is a lie.
Pumas have never been offered space here to vent, not ever. Renegade disgruntled people show up in the comments, but they do not represent “most” readers.
There are, however, many Sec. Clinton supporters around here and for good reason. But it was Pres. Obama who gave her the opportunity, for which we’ve all benefited.
If you want to say people who read here are disgusted with Pres. Obama’s rightward march and anti Democratic Party leadership, you would be correct. But that’s quite a different thing than what you’re saying.
Okay, then I lied (and did it again on another post today) – but the reason I say that is because it seems that the majority of your readers dislike Obama intensely and I mean the person Obama, not just his policies. So many of the posts here end with a comparison to the Clintons. Clinton was attacked more than Obama; Obama played the race card on Hillary; Bill had a much tougher congress to deal with, on and on. These comments are certainly fair but i just think its a little heavy on the Clinton comparison with Hillary and Bill always having it worse.
And I beg to differ with you on the disgruntled ones not being ‘most.’ I admit I haven’t been here for a while but I have not seen anyone in the least bit satisfied with anything the president has done for the last two years.
and i don’t know where all the obamabots you speak of are – I haven’t heard anything positive about him (with the exception of Chris Matthews and he doesn’t merit a serious listen)in a very long time.
In any case, this is your site, we’re all glad you have it and appreciate the chance to applaud or vent when needed.
The birthers are already moving the goalposts:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/apr/27/barack-obama-birth-certificate-statement
Now Trump is talking about demanding Obama’s school records, strongly hinting that Obama MUST be an affirmative action candidate because how could he possibly have gotten into Ivy League Schools with such mediocre grades! He didn’t come out and say affirmative action, but it’s obvious that’s what he was saying. He’s playing the race card big time. He’s a pig, he really is. If Trump wants to play, fine, but talk issues not this bullsh*t.
As far as I can see BS is his talent.
Yep. Obama never learns. Always (reacting) or being held hostage by someone. Give them and inch, they’ll be coming for a yard.
I don’t know. The whole thing is so unsavery. it is an issue on which I sympathize with the Prez. Can you imagine having your children hear what to their ears must be out right racism over and over?
They don’t have the longitivity to know that it happens to all Democratic Presidents in one form or another.
The drive to delegitimize them never stops.Even when they are so corporate friendly as to not be recognizable as Democrats, to other Democrats.
My heart ached for Chelsea during the Ken Starr investigation.
My heart ached for Chelsea during the investigation because she was show what a piece of shit her father was and how little regard he held for her and her mother; willing to turn his back on his family for a bj from some fat ugly slut.
The thing the Democratic Party lacks is political surrogates. There are few, if any, Democrats who will come to the rescue when their President when he is attacked. They are all mute. They seem to be all scared sh&tless. They didn’t defend Clinton and they are not defending Obama.
No one will take on the perpetrator or tormentor. Not Kerry; Not Reid, Not Conrad, Not Emmanuel, Not Hoyer. None of them. Republicans on the other hand, and like members of a gang. Touch one and its like touching a hornet’s nest.
That’s because Mr. Obama will not stand up for them.
Bothers me too Ramsgate. It has been said that he has little or no relationship with most of his cabinet.
Obama has shown, over and over and over again, that he will disavow anyone and anything if it’s politically expedient. Why on earth would anyone stand with him? He or she could easily get a knife in the back tomorrow.
Oh, this is just nonsense. You sound like the Bushbots that were always screaming you’re a Bush hater because he did terrible things to the country.
I certainly don’t know Obama so how can it be personal? It’s not whether you want to believe it or not. My dislike for Obama comes strictly from his behavior of constantly caving to the opposition, treating the people who worked hard to elect him like trash and his poor policy decisions.
He seems to be a fine family man and truly love his wife and children which is a personal trait but Bush had those same personal qualities. I’m glad for both of their children but I’m not in his family and neither are the majority of Americans. We are affected by what he does with not by his personal choices.