I think this "birther" nonsense is a teachable moment in North American history. I read the NY Times editorial below and it puts everything in perspective when Karl Rove was telling Trump the Chump to "knock it off"... but Trump the Chump didn't listen. But what megalomaniac does listen?

BTW, I was born and raised in Liverpool, England. I also have an anti-colonial attitude too (Nit Gingrich on Obama), so that counts me out in terms of running for the Oval office.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a huge fan of Obama (or any other politician), but I do believe in fairness and fair play (something the British must have instilled in me :), and the "birther" issue is camouflaged racism... there, I've raised the "race" card! Seriously, this is a sad moment in history for a President in office to have to show his birth certificate to the world to prove he's a legitimate President. Wow.... what will future generations make of this?

See Below, NYT Editorial.
 
Mark Christian
Office: 513-785-3276
Fax:     513-785-3145

http://www.units.muohio.edu/sociology/faculty_and_staff/christian_mark.shtml



________________________________________
New York Times - April 27, 2011

A Certificate of Embarrassment With sardonic resignation, President Obama, an eminently rational man, stared directly into political irrationality on Wednesday and released his birth certificate to history. More than halfway through his term, the president felt obliged to prove that he was a legitimate occupant of the Oval Office. It was a profoundly low and debasing moment in American political life.

The disbelief fairly dripped from Mr. Obama as he stood at the West Wing lectern. People are out of work, American soldiers are dying overseas and here were cameras to record him stating that he was born in a Hawaii hospital. It was particularly galling to us that it was in answer to a baseless attack with heavy racial undertones.

Mr. Obama practically begged the public to set aside these distractions, expressing hope that his gesture would end the “silliness” and allow a national debate about budget priorities. It won’t, of course.

If there was ever any doubt about Mr. Obama’s citizenship, which there was not, the issue was settled years ago when Hawaii released his birth certificate. The fuller document that Mr. Obama had to request contains some extra information, including his parents’ signatures and the name of the hospital where he was born, but it was unnecessary to show his legitimacy.

So it will not quiet the most avid attackers. Several quickly questioned its authenticity. That’s because the birther question was never really about citizenship; it was simply a proxy for those who never accepted the president’s legitimacy, for a toxic mix of reasons involving ideology, deep political anger and, most insidious of all, race. It was originally promulgated by fringe figures of the radical right, but mainstream Republican leaders allowed it to simmer to satisfy those who are inflamed by Mr. Obama’s presence in the White House.

Sarah Palin said the birth certificate issue was “fair game,” and the public was “rightfully” making it an issue. The House speaker, John Boehner, grudgingly said in February that he would take Mr. Obama “at his word” that he was a citizen, a suggestion that the proof was insufficient. He said, however, that it was not his job to end the nonsensical attacks. “The American people have the right to think what they want to think,” he said at the time. That signal was clearly received. Lawmakers in nearly a dozen states introduced bills requiring presidential candidates to release their full birth certificates.

It is inconceivable that this campaign to portray Mr. Obama as the insidious “other” would have been conducted against a white president.

There was a price to the party for keeping the issue alive; inevitably, it was picked up by a cartoon candidate, Donald Trump, who rode birtherism directly to the prime-time promontories of cable TV. The Republican establishment began to wince as it became increasingly tied to Mr. Trump’s flirtations with racial provocation, and Karl Rove told him to knock it off. Naturally, he did not.

Finally, his taunting and the questions of television correspondents obliging Mr. Trump got on the president’s nerves. Mr. Obama was tactically smart to release the certificate and marginalize those who continue to keep the matter alive. It is tragic that American politics is fueled by such poisonous fire. Mr. Trump quickly moved on to a new fixation, questioning Mr. Obama’s academic credentials. Mr. Boehner, and other party leaders, have a new reason to call a halt to the politics of paranoia and intolerance.





Mark Christian
Office: 513-785-3276
Fax:     513-785-3145

http://www.units.muohio.edu/sociology/faculty_and_staff/christian_mark.shtml