Jul 29 2009
The Newest Birther: Andrew Sullivan?
Yes, Andrew, who has been blogging in the tank for Obama for a while has suddenly joined the ranks of the Birthers1, well sort of.
He is essentially taking the same approach to the situation that I am. That the real certificate is likely fully supportive of BHO, but the administrations refusal to provide it’s promised transparency is confusing.
Hat Tip Hot Air and Just One Minute:
The whole birth certificate issue gets weirder still:
“I, Dr. Chiyome Fukino, director of the Hawaii State Department of Health, have seen the original vital records maintained on file by the Hawaii State Department of Health verifying Barack Hussein Obama was born in Hawaii and is a natural-born American citizen. I have nothing further to add to this statement or my original statement issued in October 2008 over eight months ago….”But why are we supposed to rely on the testimony of Dr Fukino, whom I believe entirely. It is not my job as a journalist or yours as a citizen to take public officials on trust. They are not to be trusted, whoever they are. It is our job to demand all the evidence we want or need. I know the electronic record is legit. I have no doubt that Obama has every constitutional right to be president. I think the Birthers are nuts. But there is no reason on earth that the original cannot be retrieved and shown. Jon Klein and CNN were wrong, and I retract my apology of yesterday.
Obama promised total transparency. Where is it? Or will it arrive at the moment when he tackles the deficit, and withdraws from Iraq?
LSU to Obama: For the love of God, PLEASE just release the damn thing! Frankly, I am getting tired of it and tired of the fact that you are milking this for politics.
Exit question: Why are Democrats so obstinate about this kind of stuff? John Kerry still has not released his Military records…Not that it matters. But their dogged refusal is frustrating.
- The Birther are those who demand the original Birth Certificate be released from Hawaii to prove BHO is a natural Citizen. Contrary to media reports the often displayed Birth Certificate is not the real one, it is a condensed certificate. The long form certificate is under tight wraps in Hawaii. [back]
7 Responses to “The Newest Birther: Andrew Sullivan?”
Honestly, it makes the birthers (and, by association, Republicans) look down right silly and immature. Why end the fun? http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-july-22-2009/the-born-identity
What if they release the original? Won’t there be those who say it is fake? And then the darn thing will suddenly get lost and the issue will then be up for discussion for the rest of our lives. Does anyone want to hear about it for that long.
I agree. There are those who will never happy.
But…by not doing it, by not taking all measures to ensure transparency he adds additional fuel to the fire.
If he releases it however, then he can state with full honesty that he has done everything to try and ease their fears, and it exposes them as cranks. It validates his claims of transparency.
By not doing so, and by deliberately acting to prevent it from happening, he gives the cranks legitimacy.
So either way we will discuss it forever. What we discuss however will be a bit more contained my way.
LSU
Eugene,
With people like Sullivan now weighing in and pointing out there is a legitimate issue, the cranks are getting credibility.
And don’t forget that one of the original Birthers was a democrat.
LSU
While everything you just said may be true, it still has no bearing on how silly these people sound.
For my part, I cannot understand why Obama does not try to defuse this issue.
I am far more concerned about the fact that Obama has less in common with the average American than he does with the average Leftist-Wanna-Be-President-For-Life.
Growing up in Indonesia, and later in an upper class private school in Hawaii, Obama’s view of America is jaundiced, and his background is outside that of most Americans.
It is easy to understand, that when finally thrust into American society on the mainland, he flailed around until, as a paean to his father, he latched onto radical leftist and black nationalist ideals, in an attempt to gain some identity, and claim a position in American society.
I think this is what REALLY bothers most “birthers”, but they are either unwilling or unable to perceive it in this fashion, and so, they latch onto the birth certificate issue, as a vehicle to explain the overwhelming feeling that Obama is not part of mainstream America.
On another part of this discussion, this issue has made it plain that Congress has been remiss in not discharging their Constitutionally mandated role in verifying eligibility of candidates for federal offices.
I think the first thing the GOP Majority in 2010 should do is pass rules requiring candidates for the House, Senate, and President/VP to present documentation that they are, indeed, qualified to run for said office, before they can receive any type of federal funds or other support, or be sworn into office.