Covering Up The Cover-Up

The recent NY Times poll and the recent legislation in Arizona have kicked the 'birther' question back into the news, so let's watch how the heirs of Woodward and Bernstein at the Times tackle this:

President Obama was born in Hawaii on Aug. 4, 1961. A scanned image of his birth certificate released during the 2008 presidential campaign says he was, and Hawaii’s health director and its registrar of vital statistics have confirmed it.

Despite all that, a substantial number of Americans are not convinced.

And away we go, with twenty-one paragraphs that never mention or attempt to illuminate the central issue vexing so many - there is a much more complete record of the circumstances of Obama's birth maintained in at the Hawaii Dept. of Health.  They will not (by law) release that file to the general public, but will happily release it to a citizen with a "direct and tangible interest in the record", such as President Obama himself.

So why won't Obama just release the darn file?  Is it possible that the most transparent Administration in history is fanning this particular partisan fire for their own ends?  Why don't they end it, or at least make a good-faith attempt to do so?

And since I am asking silly questions, is it possible that the NY Times reporters are unaware that a more complete record exists and is being kept under wraps by Obama?  Why don't they even want to see those records for themselves?  [An example of the old-style Hawaiian birth certificate is here].

I have this old-fashioned notion that reporters like to ask the tough questions and probe for the truth behind the facade.  As if!  Now the earnest Timesman are probably worried about access for their next White House interview and are afraid of what Gibbs might Tweet about them.

Oh, well - our watchdog press did a great job on Joe the Plumber.  They showed no fear their, and boldly spoke truth to the powerless.

MY QUESTION FOR BEN SMITH OF THE POLITICO:

Ben Smith writes this:

I've been avoiding an immigration critic's unsupported claim about Senator Lindsey Graham's sexuality for the usual reason that reporters shouldn't go around repeating such things for fear of abetting a smear campaign. That was the reason many were slow to cover rumors that Barack Obama was a Muslim.

The Muslim smear (and its birth-certificate heir), however, grew so widespread that the another principle, that sunlight is the best disinfectant, kicked in. In the contemporary media age, whispers spread fast.

Hmm.  Would it be a smear to say that there is a more complete record of Obama's birth which Obama could make public if he so chose?  Would Mr. Smith like to bring a bit of sunlight to the question of why the White House has not requested and disseminated those records?  Or should we all just blithely accept the assurances of some Hawaiian state official - is that how the big time journos roll these days?

WELL SAID:  The AllahPundit offered this incomplete taxonomy of birthers and their fellow travelers:

What I will say in the Birthers’ semi-defense is that I think there are actually two camps inside the movement. One is the group that simply wants Obama out of office as soon as possible and has latched onto this thin, exceedingly lame reed as a way of making it happen. The other is a group that’s grown curious about the fact that … no official enforcement mechanism for the Constitution’s natural-born requirement seems to exist, even though it’s a baseline requisite for the presidency.

A commenter provides this supplement:

I would also posit that there are THREE “camps” of thought that get lumped into the “birther” category.

The first two are as [AllahPundit] stated.

The third is where I would put myself – a person:
1) who wonders why it is so difficult for Obama to provide an actual Birth Certificate; and
2) who sees a connection between the lack of details and secrecy regarding Obama’s birth and the lack of details and secrecy about so much else of Obama’s life – his connections to Ayers, his grades in college, the papers he published, the lectures he taught, etc.

I don’t think Obama was born in Kenya or any other place other than Hawaii.

But I find it outrageous and ridiculous that we know more about Sarah Palin and Joe the Plumber than we know about Obama.

Just so.  But our Don't Ask, Don't Tell media would rather demonstrate their high-mindedness by ridiculing anyone who asks about Obama's birth.  And please don't get me started on their shifting stories on Bill Ayers and the whiz-bang media job there.  (David Remnick described Obama's characterization of his relationship with Ayers as "disingenuous" in "The Bridge", his new entrant in the Obama hagiography sweepstakes; he also took the opposite side of Team Obama and the Times in yet another aspect of the Obama/Ayers cover-up.  Our watchdog press is acquiver!).

I can stop anytime.  Really!

Comments

[Clarice]

Don't stop whatever you do . After the last election and the media's coverage of it, it's hard to keep from laughing whenever I hear someone argue how important the Fourth Estate is to democracies.

[xhasnobnet]

He won't run. He won't have to worry about bail.

[matt]

I'd like to offer a $1,000 reward to one of his students at U of C to come forward and be interviewed on the subject.

[bgates]

The Muslim smear (and its birth-certificate heir)

I seem to recall there's a case to be made that Warren Harding was the first black President, owing to some uncertainties about his lineage. Would it be a smear to wonder whether Harding had black relatives? Is it a smear to say anything that is not true, such that I could smear Ben Smith by calling him a good reporter?

[Sue]

I too think he was born in Hawaii. But the thing that has always bugged me is how much time and energy was spent trying to figure out if Bush missed a few days of Guard duty 30+ years ago but the total lack of inquistiveness into Obama's life. One that, I might add, included communists, marxists, terrorists, drugs and God only knows what else.

[anduril]

If Bush refused to release any National Guard records, why should Obama have to release his birth records? Oh.

[anduril]

My personal view is that the reason he won't release the birth records is because there's something hinky on the paternal side.

[bgates]

But the thing that has always bugged me is how much time and energy was spent trying to figure out if Bush missed a few days of Guard duty

Sue, it was enormously important to make sure* the man elected President in 2004 had an honorable military service record. There was a war going on.

*Well, "make sure"/"listen to him tell us for the ten millionth time", depending on the candidate.

[MarkO]

Let's get Rather to type one up and call it fake but accurate. Just a reminder of the grave lenghts to which the MSM would go to uncover the "truth."

OK. Someone offer $100,000 for an accurate copy of the orginal. You cannot really believe that for much less than that the document could be lured from those vigilent administrators in Hawaii.

While you are walking down the street and the kid comes up to you and whipers, "Bud?" You say, "Yeah, with the cert."

[xobnet]

Since no one will help, let's have him convicted. Then we'll get the answer.

Okay, maybe his dad wasn't a CIA informant, but his mother was or maybe an agent? Maybe his parents are like cousins or something.

[xoet]

1,000? How about five hundred and there's more when you get older and our membership triples by 2017..........

The program's age limit starts a five years old.

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2010/04/vicki_kennedy_c_2.html

[Jim Miller]

Am I correct in thinking that Obama never released his complete medical records, either?

(And I am still wondering why Clinton kept his secrets. It isn't I can't think of possible reasons Clinton would keep them secret; it's that I can't decide among them.)

[Clarice]

Yes, you are correct, Jim.

[xet]

They'd take special care of a retard or whatever, like an abused kid or something. Maybe he took some money form the wrong guy or something when he was a kid and there was drugs...........

The guy who died after he was elected was rumored to have dated Hillary. Is it medical records for Bill too?

[Observation]

Jim Miller -- medical records, college records, thesis, birth certificate -- all kept secret.

I think he's hiding something. The odd thing about his birth is that no one has come forward to say they remember Baby Barack being brought home from the Hawaiian hospital -- no one was at the baby shower that is usually held for a mother -- no one saw Baby Barack toddling around his grandparents' house. This is what really makes me wonder about where he was born.

I suspect though that there is another secret being hidden -- foreign student status in college, perhaps? Surrendeur of his citizenship when he was adopted by an Indonesian stepfather?

I hope to live long enough to see the truth on this matter. It will be fascinating reading.

[Clarice]

Whether or not his mother surrendered his US citizenship--and I think that unlikely as he returned to the US permanently without any apparent difficult, under US law that would not be sufficient to deprive him of his citizenship.

It's possible that he lied and claimed he was a foreign student to get scholarship funds for school. We just learned that the the Yemeni cleric behind the Ft Hood and other attacks was American born but studied here under a scholarship by lying about his citizenship status.

[Neo]

PHOENIX -- Sen. John McCain said the federal government has only itself to blame for Arizona's tough new proposals on immigration enforcement, now awaiting Gov. Jan Brewer's signature.

"The state of Arizona is acting and doing what it feels it needs to do in light of the fact that the federal government is not fulfilling its fundamental responsibility -- to secure our borders," McCain said Monday during an appearance on "The O'Reilly Factor" on Fox News.

The only remaining question ... is the federal government incapable of securing the borders or is it that Obama doesn't give a flying ...

[Bill in AZ]

pfffft - so Zeros last name is Davis. Who cares. The greatest crime in the world (du jour) is the AZ illegal immigration bill waiting for the Gov's signature. Idiots all over the world with no business whatsoever in our affairs weighing in on how the state should deal with the problem. F them.

[Publius in Idaho]

USA Today is reporting that the Hawaii Legislature is close to passing a law that would allow the state to ignore repeated requests (as if they haven't already) for President Obama's birth certificate.

Combined with the $2 million Obama has already spent obvescating his true origin, this seems a tad excessive, as opposed to producing the document.

The canard that Obama is just playing the "birthers" along for the fun of pulling the rug out from under them later has worn too thin to be credible.

If you won't produce your certificate, Mr. President, give us a more believable explanation of why you shouldn't, other than it is none of our business.

[bgates]

Sen. John McCain said the federal government has only itself to blame

and if Sen. John McCain ever runs into anybody involved with the federal government, he'll give them what for!

[Bill in AZ]

"Sen. John McCain said the federal government has only itself to blame for Arizona's tough new proposals on immigration enforcement"

... methinks McCain forgot himself in that "federal government has only itself to blame" part. McCain is up to about a 9G hard right turn ever since Hayworth challenged him, his wings are threatening to come off. I hope folks in this state don't forget.

[xet]

Obama had special privileges why? Maybe we can track him through IRS like the old mob days.

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-5076

Bill supposedly took the money from the wrong guy............

[nathan hale]

"John McCain, never heard of him, better check the cables" honestly he is becoming??
ridiculous. Does he think people, fell off
a turnip truck, That's like the Immelman turn that Harry Connick's ill fated character in Independence Day pulled, with just as effective results. Speaking of the agony of
defeat, Michael Steele, double facepalm

[tommy mc donnell]

the media cared about bush's national guard duty because they viewed as a political enemy. the media don't care anything about obama's background because they view him as a political ally. the purpose of the media's reporting is not to inform the public, it's sole purpose is to advance their political agenda. american tass represents the greatest threat to the freedom of the american people in the history of this country.

[Mike G in Corvallis]

Obama could release the original long form birth certificate ... but he won't. However, Barack Obama isn't the only person who could legally get a copy -- close relatives are also entitled to do this. So his half-sister could do it, or his half-brother in China, or his half-brother in Kenya, or his illegal immigant aunt ...

You'd think that somewhere there'd be a wealthy Republican who'd give Obama's aunt $50,000 and a free Hawaiian vacation in exchange for a copy of that document, wouldn't you?

I still think the name on the document is Barry Stanley Obama.

[Bill G.]

Wherever he was born, whatever he is or isn't hiding, let's use this to break the shield. The big "D" after his name is a shield. The Left Stream Media will not require anything of anyone with that "D" after their name.
So let's use this constitutional issue to break the shield.

[Jane]

It's possible that he lied and claimed he was a foreign student to get scholarship funds for school.

That would be my bet - and a whole host of other things just like it. I assume he has always been a thug with not even a whit of ethics. And the democrats worship that stuff.

[Old Lurker]

With friends like this (from Lucianne):

"GOP Chairman Michael Steele told a group of student activists that Republicans have not given African-Americans a reason to vote for them. "You really don't have a reason to, to be honest — we haven't done a very good job of really giving you one. True? True," Republican National Chairman Michael Steele told 200 DePaul University students Tuesday night."

Can you imagine the alternate version that Rush or any decent conservative could provide?

[Knawed on it. It never had any meat on it.]

Bona Fides? Oh, I thought you said 'throw a bone to Fido.
==========================

[Danube in Virginia]

Given the choice, I would much rather see transcripts from Occidental, Columia and Harvard than whatever mateial is in Hawaii.

[centralcal]

Until this creepy guy got elected President, I naively thought there was some official mechanism in place where each Presidential candidate established their "bona fides," as Kim puts it, to be eligible. And, I do not mean, partisan party machines.

I think a lot of Americans, like me, were surprised that there isn't a formal, official mechanism. For that reason, I am proud to be a "birther." Such a broad based slur, isn't it? It covers ANY questions at all about the eligibility process. Today Barack Obama. Tomorrow who knows who it will be.

[Jane]

Since Daddy is stuck in Dehli - here is the latest Travels With Daddy.

[Pofarmer]

I suspect though that there is another secret being hidden -- foreign student status in college, perhaps? Surrendeur of his citizenship when he was adopted by an Indonesian stepfather?

Hows about traveling to Pakistan on an Indonesian passport? Lot's of neat questions that could have been asked.

[Captain Hate]

Can you imagine the alternate version that Rush or any decent conservative could provide?

I'd like to see the casuistry of the squishes that can defend not tossing Steele immediately. A more effective Donk plant can't be imagined. Well done country-clubbers.

[nathan hale]

"I voted for Kodos" I mean Blackwell, right about now Katon Dawson!! doesn't seem so bad

[Captain Hate]

Until this creepy guy got elected President, I naively thought there was some official mechanism in place where each Presidential candidate established their "bona fides," as Kim puts it, to be eligible. And, I do not mean, partisan party machines.

I think a lot of Americans, like me, were surprised that there isn't a formal, official mechanism.

You've obviously never been employed by, or have done contract work for, the federal government; because you'd be disabused of the notion that it works more effectively than your local DMV at any level.

[BB Key]

American Thinker
April 18, 2010
Obama's Missing Girlfriends
Jack Cashill

a review of Remmick's book The Bridge

[Janet]

God bless Jack Cashill, Tom Maguire, Steve Diamond, The New Zeal blog writer, and now hopefully the great state of Arizona.
Our MSM is worse than worthless.

[Marko]

I read where the issue isn't where Obama was born, but that his father was never an American citizen, and so therefore Mr. Barry Soetero-Obama is not a "Natural Born" citizen.
Has anyone answered the question as to whether Obama's father was an American? If he wasn't then doesn't that make Obama unqualified?

[Ignatz]

--I think a lot of Americans, like me, were surprised that there isn't a formal, official mechanism.--

No kidding, cc.
OTOH, until Barry, I don't think we've had a pres where the question ever even needed asking.
Would be nice in the future if the guy from any party with his finger on the button was as well vetted as say a day care worker or your local sanitation engineer.

[MarkO]

Well, for my lower-case cousin, I say, yes, he is unqualified.

And a liar.

[centralcal]

"Our MSM is worse than worthless."

No, Janet, sadly they are not worthless. They are corrupt propagandists toiling for the left - and their worth to them has been significant over the years. However, they do not have as much "worth" as they once had, and new media willing, someday they will truly be "worthless."

[nathan hale]

On that note, a cheerful detail to start the day, in the LUN

[Pagar]

"Has anyone answered the question as to whether Obama's father was an American?"

If you believe Barack Obama Sr was his father how could you believe possibly believe his father was an American?

[Clarice]

Marko..it isn't necessary that BOTH parents be US citizens. In fact, I'm not sure--if you are born here--whether either parent has to be one.
The only legal problem I could see if he'd been born abroad related to the age of his mother and how long she lived abroad before he was born but the law on that changed and he now would qualify under it.

[maryrose]

Something in Obama's past must remain hidden otherwise he would not have gone to such great lengths to have it all sealed up tight. For his future presidential library we will need more than this thin gruel we have been placated with. Someone will take the initiative to call him out and eventually produce the information. I think it has to do with his funds for his education, college board scores which would show him to be not such a genius, bad grades like Kerry and cocaine use heavier than anticipated by the muddle.

[Karen]

Obama's mother was a US citizen, so he is automatically a US citizen. There is nothing wrong that all FUTURE presidential candidates be required to show proof of age, citizenship, etc. Many state have requirements for candidates to be put on ballots, including winning a primary and signatures.

It does seem odd that the liberal media was more concerned with the Trig Truther and gave validility to the 9/11 truther whackos.

[Old Lurker]

I see Powerline was as offended as I was about Michael Steele's latest GOP cheerleading. LUN

[Ignatz]

--There is nothing wrong that all FUTURE presidential candidates be required to show proof of age, citizenship, etc.--

Including Barack Obama in 2012? :)

[centralcal]

Exactly, Ignatz. Allahpundit (::eyeroll::) seems to think it shouldn't kick in until 2016. God forbid that Obama should have to "prove" anything.

[Johann Amadeus Metesky]

Obama won't release the records because keeping the Birther controversy alive helps him paint his opponents as cranks.

[centralcal]

OL: Michael Steele has done more to damage Michael Steele than all of his detractors could ever possibly do. What a damned shame!

[LarryG]

Have a look at this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVDI0wpyb68&feature=related
And this article which has now disappeared from the archives of the Kenya Standard newspaper: The Sunday Standard
Big Issue | Financial Standard | Maddo | Pulse | Style | Society
Sunday, June 27, 2004

Kenyan-born Obama all set for US Senate
Kenyan-born US Senate hopeful, Barrack Obama, appeared set to take over the Illinois Senate seat after his main rival, Jack Ryan, dropped out of the race on Friday night amid a furor over lurid sex club allegations.
The allegations that horrified fellow Republicans and caused his once-promising candidacy to implode in four short days have given Obama a clear lead as Republicans struggled to fetch an alternative.
Ryan’s campaign began to crumble on Monday following the release of embarrassing records from his divorce. In the records, his ex-wife, Boston Public actress Jeri Ryan, said her former husband took her to kinky sex clubs in Paris, New York and New Orleans.
"It’s clear to me that a vigorous debate on the issues most likely could not take place if I remain in the race," Ryan, 44, said in a statement. "What would take place, rather, is a brutal, scorched-earth campaign – the kind of campaign that has turned off so many voters, the kind of politics I refuse to play."
Although Ryan disputed the allegations, saying he and his wife went to one ‘avant-garde’ club in Paris and left because they felt uncomfortable, lashed out at the media and said it was "truly outrageous" that the Chicago Tribune got a judge to unseal the records.
The Republican choice will become an instant underdog in the campaign for the seat of retiring Republican Senator Peter Fitzgerald, since Obama held a wide lead even before the scandal broke.
"I feel for him actually," Obama told a Chicago TV station. "What he’s gone through over the last three days I think is something you wouldn’t wish on anybody."

The Republican state committee must now choose a replacement for Ryan, who had won in the primaries against seven contenders. Its task is complicated by the fact that Obama holds a comfortable lead in the polls and is widely regarded as a rising Democratic star.
The chairwoman of the Illinois Republican Party, Judy Topinka, said at a news conference, after Ryan withdrew, that Republicans would probably take several weeks to settle on a new candidate.
"Obviously, this is a bad week for our party and our state," she said.
As recently as Thursday, spokesmen for the Ryan campaign still insisted that Ryan would remain in the race. Ryan had defended himself saying, "There’s no breaking of any laws. There’s no breaking of any marriage laws. There’s no breaking of the Ten Commandments anywhere."

—AP
???

[2klbofun]

Today's media: "Uncurious Basterds"

[cboldt]

-- it isn't necessary that BOTH parents be US citizens. In fact, I'm not sure--if you are born here--whether either parent has to be one. --

Under the standard of Wong Kim Ark, US citizenship is conferred on a person born in the US, even if both parents are non-citizens, and even if neither parent is a resident. There is a cottage industry that brings expectant Korean and Japanese mothers to the US so their children obtain US citizenship by birth. The kids are raised "back home," not in the US.

Many, if not most lawyers hold that these children are natural born citizens under the meaning intended by the constitution, as
amended by the 14th amendment. This outcome derives from construing "under the jurisdiction" to transient presence on the soil. The only exceptions are diplomats, etc.

While the Wong Kim Ark case only decided "citizenship," it is held out as controlling for the purpose of qualification ("natural born citizen") for the presidency, as well.

I think this construction is an error; but 100% of Congress has no problem whatsoever with finding a dual citizen at birth to also be a natural born US citizen under the meaning of the constitution.

[Interested Person]

There must be something in the complete file in the vault in Hawaii that is not compatible with the conventional story about Barack Obama.

As a young child, his mother married an Indonesian. He lived in Indonesia as Barry Soetoro. He probably had a legal name change to Soetoro, though this has never been discussed openly by the mainstream media. After his mother divorced his step-father, he moved back to Hawaii to be with his grandparents. In his teens, he probably had a legal name change back to his birth name. Name changes at a young age are relatively common for children in broken homes. But why hasn't the mainstream media discussed a name change in his past?

There is no explanation as to why he is so resistant to just releasing the complete file. Having a couple of name changes in those circumstances is not only common, it would not be embarrassing at all.

Thus, that leads to speculation that there is something else, something embarrassing in the file. Plausible possibilities would be that his father was not Barack Hussein Obama, Sr., or his religion at birth was listed as Muslim. At this point, those would be blips on the radar that few would care about. It still does not explain why he has directed millions of dollars of his political allies' money into the legal effort to keep the complete file sealed.

A more outlandish possibility would be that his current legal name is not "Barack Hussein Obama II" and that the complete record would indicate this.

The above list is pretty much everything that is remotely plausible.

An extremely outlandish possibility would be that he was not born in the United States, and that Hawaiian state officials, including the Republican governor, are actively deceiving everyone about where he was born. I don't believe that this is the case.

Based on this analysis, Obama opponents are wise to try to get access to this material for the purpose of learning the truth and informing the public. He is probably a natural born citizen, though.

[Me!]

@Bill in AZ

The biggest crime would be that his last name is Davis? Funny how you can so blithely brush something like that aside. I don't know what the truth is, but he is certainly hiding something. I think there is enough information in that document and other records he has hidden to prove his entire life story is an abominable lie. And once these are revealed, then the scary truth is that we have a fraud in the White House and that other elected officials were complicit in his duplicitous and traitorous con.

[Old Lurker]

Agree CC. I loved him as Lt. Gov here in Maryland and had great hopes for him on the national stage. Alas...not to be.

[Paying Attention]

A Natural Born Citizen is someone born on American soil to two U.S. citizen parents. It doesn't matter if Barack Obama was born in Hawaii, although I believe he was not and a cover-up has been put in place. By Obama's own admission, his father was not a U.S. citizen. Obama had British citizenship at birth. This is not in dispute at all. His disqualification for the presidency is right out in the open. Forget the birth certificate. I hope the next Congress impeaches him, and I hope he goes to jail, along with everyone who conspired with him.

[Old Lurker]

And in the Irony Department, has it not occurred to all those green Europeans that the models supporting the dire AGW scam over the next 100 years might actually be less reliable than the failed models tracking something as simple as volcanic ash in real time?

You can't make this stuff up.

[Sue]

I always feel the need to restate that I think Obama was born in Hawaii. Okay, having gotten that out of the way, I get tired of the argument that Obama's parents/grandparents had the forethought to put Obama's birth announcement in the newspapers in Hawaii, so he could run for president x number of years later. How about they wanted a written, public record that their son/grandson was indeed born in Hawaii so they could get a birth certificate issued for what was a home birth? Or, if he was born somewhere in Canada or even Kenya, why wouldn't they want that child to be considered a true red white and blue citizen of the US so that when the inevitable divorce occurred, they didn't have a messy situation with a child that was born in another country? Nothing whatsoever to do with him running for president, but that strawman argument always pops up when there are other, more legitimate reasons, his mother/grandparents would want his birth to be in the US of America. He is the child of a foreign national.

Or, he could have just been born in Hawaii and that is why it was in the newspapers.

But stop using the future president argument. No one who thinks his birth was hinky thinks anything was done so he could run president.

[Clarice]

PA, cboldt has correctly stated the law. You are in error.

[Clarice]

LarryG, that Kenyan article is hardly dispositive of anything. As he asserts his father was the Kenyan (Obama) Kenya might claim him as a native son but it says nothing about his citizenship under US law.

[Sue]

I think his stepfather adopted him. His original birth certificate would have been pulled, all files sealed and henceforth he is known as Barry Soetero. When he came back from Indonesia and enrolled in school as Barack Hussein Obama (probably his name from birth until adoption, with Barry being the nickname) in Hawaii, his name on record was Barack Hussein Obama and the school had the original bc on file, or grandparents had original still in lock box at bank. Obama stated in Dreams that after going to California to school, when he came home at Christmas he told his mother and grandparents that henceforth he would be known as Barack Hussein Obama. For some reason, according to Dreams, that upset them. I've never understood that. Why would they be upset that he wanted to lose his nickname and use his real name?

[Sue]

Also in Dreams, he states that only one of his brothers was never contested as an heir of Obama Sr.

[SDN]

Actually, Tim, that second group includes people like me who wonder why we bother having ANY election laws if all enforcement efforts are stopped because "he won".

That's EXACTLY what the FEC decided about the amply proven charge that Obama's campaign deliberately disabled all verification checks for donations through their website, allowing an estimated 35 MILLION in illegal donations.

The FEC investigated, and basically said, yeah, he probably did exactly that, but a prosecution would be "too disruptive". Again, anyone who follows the election laws is a fool.

[Jean Huber]

I agree 100% with the article. The lack of a mechanism to providing proof for this Presidential requirement per The Constitution and why all the money and time to hold the official record off limits? I have only questioned why the reluctance to provide the information? Why lock and key provided in Hawaii? If Birthers can be made to look like fools, then why not make them look like fools? Obama wins, Bithers look stupid, why if you were Obama would you not want this result?

[David Parsons]

This computer generated, short form uncertified Hawaiian birth certificate, is what the Obama handlers pass off as the real thing.
http://tinyurl.com/ycs93z2

This is a copy of a 1963 long form certified Hawaiian birth certificate.
http://tinyurl.com/ydeonff

[Coldwarrior57]

I am unsure of his ( obama’s) status.
I know that when people on the left said the same things of McCain he produced a “BIRTH CERTIFICATE” not a certificate of life birth.
As far as I know, the laws at that time stated that in order to confer citizen ship that the parents must have been living in the USA for the past 5-10 years. His father was not a US citizen, so that leaves him out, His mother had not lived in the USA for that amount of time. I think she was 3 years shy of that date. I do believe he was born in Hawaii but the parents didn’t meet the criteria to give him citizenship.
And then there is this little problem how did obama travel to Pakistan, at that time of his travels
And he freely admits he went there, Pakistan was not accepting US Passports, how did he enter that country? If he was traveling on a passport other then an American then how did he obtain it?
As you ( as far as I know) can only get a passport from the country you were born in.

I just have questions. I believe that every one should ask questions.
To borrow an old line, “ if there is no there there” then why not just produce it?
To me the answer is easy, he wants to keep this battle going to keep the We the People pitted against ourselves and NOT the Gov.

[matt]

When is an investigative reporter, oh, ay Kitty Kelly, going to dive in? I smell millions. Either that or cement overshoes.

[Kate Stella]

Another irony: we know the EXACT ADDRESS of the place of birth of all Presidents of the 20th and 21st centuries EXCEPT President Barack Obama, our most recent President. Why?

[Sue]

Matt,

Because everyone is working off the assumption that Obama was born in Hawaii and that they wouldn't have had a reason to hide his birthplace in the 60s so he could run for president 47 years later. If you look at it like that, it makes perfect sense he was born in Hawaii and there is nothing odd or strange about him refusing to release anything of a personal nature. They also don't think it odd all his state legislative papers disappeared. And they don't think it odd he lied about his relationship with Ayers or hearing the Right Rev. Wright say things against our country. Or that he wrote nothing for the HLR. That none of his friends will talk about him. It's just perfectly normal that we know absolutely everything about George Washington but very little about Obama.

[gerald kerr]

President Obama is either hiding significant information that is unflattering or worse OR he is pimping those who oppose him or are not gaga over his every clever power move. In any case it is no surprise that Citizens are pushing sniping and pimping right back at him.

What is in the original record? This citizen wants to know if for no other reason than to assure that he is truly eligible to be President of the USA.

Jayker

[Fred]

It is worth noting that birther meme was spawned by the left because John McCain was born in Panama.

The fact this was not pursued might indicate that Obama's birth situation (whatever the detail actually are) is more unusual than McCain's.

[LindaSD]

THANK YOU JOM & AllahPundit for nailing it on the head:

the fact that … no official enforcement mechanism for the Constitution’s natural-born requirement seems to exist, even though it’s a baseline requisite for the presidency.

That & the fact of the lack of transperancey & vetting Obama's radical past will continue our pursuit. It is the constitutional responsibility of the STATES to ensure the integrity & legitimacy of the ballots, thus AZ, OK & other states looking at similar legislation to ensure the integrity of their ballots is entirely withing the scope of their constitutional powers and this should have been addressed years ago.

HELLO..ROGER CALERO.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Róger_Calero Nicaraguan candidate for US president who remained on the ballots in 5 states in 2008.

[Clarice]

Coldwarrior, the change in the law respecting time lived overseas by US parents was changed RETROACTIVELY.

[Clarice]

Sue: "Why would they be upset that he wanted to lose his nickname and use his real name?"

Soetero who actually supported the kid and lived with him for years certainly had a more significant relationship with Barry than Obama who, if he is the father, seems not to have had much contact with him or his mother outside the act of conception.

[Pavel205]

Look, what we need is someone on the right who was born in Hawaii to compare a short form Hawaii birth certificate to the long form certificate and tell us which pieces of information on the long form are missing on the short form. Then we would at least know what, if anything, someone might be inclined to keep secret. Can someone on this site with Hawaii connections get on it?

[Sue]

Clarice,

He was already using Obama. Classmates knew him as Barry Obama. So why the upset that he wanted to use his real name? Even with them? There is always something hinky with this president, even when you decide you are no longer Barry but Barack.

[Dorothy Adams]

I'd like to see the documentation repudiating his British and Indonesian citizenship. Dual/multiple citizenships would render him ineligible to be President. If he can supply that, then I'd be interested in his place of birth.

[Mitch]

He already released his certificate of freakin birth, the same certificate that grants you a drivers license, public schools, or anything else.

Why is Arizona such an insane state? Is Arizona socialist? Does Arizona just want to elect more Democrats by talking about inane issues that have no relevance whatsoever to anyone?

That's what it seems like.

[Jane]

He probably had a legal name change to Soetoro

I doubt it. His mother does not seem like the type who could care less about the law.

[Rob Crawford]

Obama stated in Dreams that after going to California to school, when he came home at Christmas he told his mother and grandparents that henceforth he would be known as Barack Hussein Obama. For some reason, according to Dreams, that upset them. I've never understood that. Why would they be upset that he wanted to lose his nickname and use his real name?

Because they're "typical white people"?

[Ignatz]

--He already released his certificate of freakin birth--

Don't want to be pedantic but I believe it is officially known as a "Certificate of Freakin Live Birth".

[Rob Crawford]

Why is Arizona such an insane state?

Why does establishing the requirement for future elections make them "insane"?

What's insane is that this wasn't already required by all 50 states.

[Clarice]

Dorothy: "Dual/multiple citizenships would render him ineligible to be President."

Mind providing some authority for that opinion?
I know of none.

In any event he never took an active role as an adult whether Indonesia or Kenya considered him a citizen.There's no evidence he applied for dual national status. Even had he, however, it is not inconsistent with the Constitutional requirement of "natural citizen".

[centralcal]

Over at Pajamasmedia, I see Roger Simon has reopened the case of the LA Times sequestering the Obama/Khalidi tape.

Simon asks his commenters for suggestions in getting the tape released. One or two suggest that maybe Mossad could be successful.

Tongue in cheek, I think if things get too much worse between Obama and Israel, maybe Mossad unearthing all of Bozo's mysteries might be tactically wise.

[prm]

I too think that he was probably born in Hawaii and it's too late now to do anything about it. My primary concern comes from the fact that immediately following his election, Obama started having all sorts of records sealed...not just his birth records. Why? The fact that you seal records and don't allow the public access to them sort of gives the impression that you have something to hide.
For instance, did he receive financial aid as a foreign student as some anectdotal evidence suggests? If so, he's got a problem no matter how you look at it. If he truly has nothing to hide he should give us access to all his records. Period.

[Tom Maguire]

Another irony: we know the EXACT ADDRESS of the place of birth of all Presidents of the 20th and 21st centuries EXCEPT President Barack Obama, our most recent President. Why?

LOL. My guess - because unlike the rest of us, historians are not racist and divisive?

Maybe when that Brinkley fool re-emerges from Kerry's rear area he can tackle this.

[Jane]

Didn't POTUS have until yesterday to turn over the Hassan docs?

Did they?

[Jerry Corsi]

As a hardcore Obama-hating racist birther, I beg you to not let Lindsey Graham be outed. He is too valuable a Republican. I would rather have six more years of Obama, and would keep a newsreel of his birth at Mombasa hospital secret in exchange for keeping up the illusion of hetero-Graham.

[Kenneth C. Harrell]

We must "assume" that "osama obama" provided some form that purported to prove its birth in the US to obtain a passport. Or at least we would hope that the State Dept. did not issue it a passport on the say-so of "osama obama" that it was born in the US.

Is there any method of securing copies of the documentation it used to obtain a passport? If it did not provide a REAL birth certificate, then ALL Americans requiring a passport in the future should use the same bogus forms used by "osama obama"

[happyfeet]

you awesomeness is showing, Mr. Maguire

[Mick]

You all need to get a clue. It would'nt matter if Obama were born in the White House in a manger, with a Big Star overhead. He's not an eligible Natural Born Citizen (the requirement, not just citizen)because his father was not a Citizen at the time Obama 2 was born. Natural Born Citizens are those born in a country of parents who are it's citizens. He's not eligible, and neither is McCain, since he was born in Panama. Natural Born Citizens cannot owe allegiance to a foreign power at birth. Obama has admitted that, at birth, his citizenship was "governed" by Britain. How can a Natural Born Citizen, eligible to be POTUS owe allegiance to Britain?

[iurockhead]

"Why don't they end it, or at least make a good-faith attempt to do so?"

Simple: It serves them not to. As is, there are a lot of "birthers" out there that can be painted as wild-eyed conspiracy theorists, and virtually any opposition to 0 can be discounted if there is a "birther" in the crowd. Leaving the issue hanging and the birthers screaming is useful to them.

[cboldt]

-- "Dual/multiple citizenships would render him ineligible to be President." --

-- Mind providing some authority for that opinion? --

Presented without anything in the way of my argument, and in no particular order:

IS MR. CHARLES EVANS HUGHES A “NATURAL BORN CITIZEN” ... (Essay expressly pertains to citizenship pre-passage of the 14th amendment)

Some dude with the handle "Mick" said, "SCOTUS Cases that defined NBC in Dicta as born in the US of Citizen Parents include The Venus (1814), Minor v. Happersett (1873), and Perkins v. Elg (1939). There are NO SCOTUS CASES that define it as less than 2 citizen parents on US soil."

Again, my point of view is that Obama is not qualified, on account of being a dual citizen at birth. As I said above, I think the conclusion of the majority of lawyers and 100% of Congress is in error - at best the conclusion was taken w/o critical scrutiny of the ramifications of dual citizenship against the constitutional requirement.

[iurockhead]

"immediately following his election, Obama started having all sorts of records sealed...not just his birth records. Why? The fact that you seal records and don't allow the public access to them sort of gives the impression that you have something to hide.
Posted by: prm | April 22, 2010 at 12:50 PM"

Gee, Jack Ryan's sealed divorce records didn't stop the Chicago Machine from releasing them, thus torpedoing Ryan's campaign, leading to 0's election to the US Senate. Let's get those guys on O's "sealed" records. Oh, wait, Obama is "those guys."

[Interested Person]

The one possibility that fits the facts best, strange as it seems, is that he was born Barack Hussein Obama II, was adopted and had his name legally changed to Barry Hussein Soetoro, and never legally changed his name after that. So his current full legal name is "Barry Hussein Soetoro."

[sunzeneise]

The cautious or considered opinion to this issue is "I don't think that . . . ", but none can state the facts upon which their opinion is based. It is a leap of faith, or a leap away to avoid controversy. None can proffer documentary or testimonial evidence - as a matter of law the document is not the best evidence and any statements are ipse dixit.

Personally, although I care about the issue, the so-called documentation or testimony don't matter to me, because there is a diurnal demeanor - his tone and gesture that do not speak "American" but plainly indicate prejudice toward "the Other" - or whatever "other than . . . ."

There are certain intuitive clues - "tells" - that stimulate our thoughts and feelings that touch the stuff that courses through our grains, and he manifests none that are genuine and honest. Any that he might faint are feyly faux, indeed his patronizing ritually projects the contrary to what many have long recognized as the stuff in the American grain. He is not "un-American" (whatever that shibboleth means), because he does not care to be American.

Those who disdain the stuff of the American grain find his demeanor gratifying and pleasing, but many intuitively recoil - or stifle their feelings to be polite. In any event, there is a cloud on his title - and he exudes that cloud everywhere he acts.

[noislamocommie]

The real legal issue is being skirted again. One cannot produce a "Natural Born Citizen" through statutory law.The Article II requirement is LOCKED IN so to speak. the precedence and historical research of original intent overwhelmingly point to TWO CITIZEN PARENTS +SOIL.Obama is not eligible but enough collusion existed to keep this legal understanding obscure.If one wishes to make these requirements merely "citizen" it requires a Constitutional amendment. No act or resolution of Congress can overtake this CONSTITUTIONAL mandate for the executive branch. Are you FEELING why yet?