A Low Point In American Politics
Today we have reached a low point in American politics. After a huge frenzy of a non-traversy, enabled by a lazy media, Barack Obama released the Holy Grail of birth certificates, the long form birth certificate. It proved what we’ve known all along, Obama was born in Hawai’i.
He also gave a press conference where he expressed puzzlement at the issue, but wanted to move on. He also said the controversy was the work of “carnival barkers.” My twitter stream is divided between people who think Obama’s move was madness or genius. What do you think?
The most nauseating thing is media coverage of Trump taking credit for “ending” the non-troversy and then demanding Obama’s college grades. We all know what’s next – RWNJs “proving” that the certificate is fake, saying he doesn’t deserve his Harvard degree and discussing whether Obama has had brain surgery. It never ends.
Tags: Barack Obama, Birthers, Donald Trump
Nothing will ever shut these RWNJ the F up. I don’t think the President did any good with that press conference.
All these crazy people are the worst traitors in reality. They want the gas prices high, the economy to suck and people to suffer so they can WIN at any cost.
Why let the crazies call the tune?
I guess the WH got some polling that showed some trouble brewing.
You have to be right Jason.
I listened to this press conference and I suspect that this was less about his birth certificate and more about spanking the media for prioritizing this issue over the work ongoing by the Administration.
A well-deserved spanking, I might add. Because covering the birthers has not one damn thing to do with news — it has everything with providing free PR to the carnival. Free PR that continues to make normal the lies and BS that is supposed to pass for information. Interestingly, this same media never paid as much attention to the issue of GWB being AWOL for part of his National Guard service. Even worked pretty hard to marginalize the accusations, really. But birth certificates gets the full play.
Well, I see your point about the media, Cassandra.
It’s just a shame that the President has to give this any credence, though.
So, it is also part of the media problem about how liberal demonstations are never covered but get 30+ Tea Panties together and the satellite trucks zip into place.
But why is the “long form” only one page? Have you thought about that?
My reaction was the same as Tom’s. There is nothing new or interesting about the long form certificate. A whole lot of hyperventilation about nothing, IMO.
I am guessing the WH is ascribing its downward poll numbers to the free media attacks by GOP primary candidates, with Trump being the worst. The longer Trump runs free with this birther issue, the more he raises Obama’s negatives, and then Obama’s declining poll numbers become the story.
Hopefully the media narrative on the GOP primary now changes more to the Clown Car, Seven Dwarves variety.
Your guess sucks anon. This “controversy” was a winner for Obama. PLaying it out and making the whole GOP look like the bunch of fucktards that they are would have been good for him personally – but bad, he reasoned, for the country.
Jason: Who says it’s not still playing out? This won’t satisfy the crazies, who will keep making noise. Obama can still use them to claim Republicans aren’t serious about solving problems.
There you go again, taking Obama at his word.
Now with Trump defused, Obama gets to go up against a new GOP front-runner who doesn’t have the birther baggage and because of that, will be portrayed as moderate. How does that help anybody?
I thought that it was a very “The American President” kind of moment this morning with Pres. Obama playing the Michael Douglas role: “This is a time for serious people, Bob, and your fifteen minutes are up. My name is Andrew Shepherd, and I *am* the President.”
Wha, bu…huh? Okay anon. You win the M.C Escher staircase comment of the year. Happy?
The White House has posted the video and the transcript of this conference. The take away:
Nicely done, really, for a message to the independent middle — who don’t much care for the whole birther thing and who don’t much care for the media shoutfest. And this birth certificate was ground zero of the shoutfest. It still will, mind you, but President Obama still gets to paint himself as the reasonable guy in the room.
I love the RWNJs are already saying this is not real proof, no raised seal on it, could be forged, etc. Knowing these people are out there is truly scary.
I agree. The framing is good for the campaign.
“The Democrats and President are serious people who want to solve problems and move forward. Republicans are batshit crazy ideologues who only care about the “game” of politics.”
Birthers can’t let this go, mainly because it’s all they got. Here’s my bet on how this plays out:
I hated that Obama had to show more proof than anyone else who has held the office, but I get exactly where it’s coming from – he’s black. And That’s It. That. Is. The. Only. Reason.
Moving on (something birthers won’t do)… Get ready for birthers to pump up the crazy to levels unimaginable; levels that will frighten most people. This move by Obama is going to have their heads exploding. As a fringe benefit, it places Trump even further in the lead for head wingnut.
I saw it. A brilliant forgery.
I would like to think they had poll numbers or some other reason but the administration has been so erratic and personal these days it is very possible that they just let it get to them, let themselves get frustrated and played into the birthers’ demands.
How does this play into the birthers’ hands? Birthers will declare victory over… what? Or, they’ll declare victory and go home?
It’s a total slapdown of the conservative/corporate Media. In effect, releasing the document is an indictment of it’s inability to do it’s work, in good faith, and also to make proper assessments. The Villagers will not be happy.
delbert means “close to brilliant.” The forgers forgot to change the baby’s name from Barack Hussein Obama to Byron Hendricks Oglethorpe – thereby making it impossible for the secret Kenyan to ever be elected President of the United States.
Hoisted by their own petards, those forgers were.
Perfect!
Trump Unable To Produce Certificate Proving He’s Not A Festering Pile Of Shit
Watching Trump and the other idiots prolong this discussion makes me long for the system in the UK, where spreading this kind of BS makes one liable for libel and slander. Slap a few of these RWNJ’s with a SLAPP suit and they’ll go away.
Producing the certificate vindicates the idea that their concerns were legitimate and that he should have done it 3 years ago.
What concerns, occam? The baggers and birthers are a bunch of crazy ass racists?
Obama: I don’t have time for ’silliness’ – I’m late for Oprah
After “Socialist!”, “He’s not born here!”, “Marxist”, “Kenyan”, “Community Organizer” & “Secret Muslem”, wonder what the next word/phrase conservatives will use to replace “ni**er” when speaking in public?
My bet is on “Urban”, but compounded with something else…can’t be “elite” because it conjures up the wrong shade. Maybe “Urban Sympathizer”?
His college/grad school transcripts are up next — Trump is busily queuing that up as we speak. Because a black man couldn’t have gotten into or out of Columbia or Harvard legitimately, you know?
You just may be right! Even though graduating magna cum laude may make it difficult for most to believe. What am I saying?!? The 27%ers would believe the moon’s made out of BBQ spare ribs if FoxNews crapped it out of Hannity’s mouth!
But with that said, Trump opened himself to a world of hurt with his Obama not Ivy League comment. His son-in-law was the focus of a book where his father bought his admission to Harvard. Petty damning stuff….
funny not one comment about a birther included the race card. Let’s be honest, anyone that still doubts obama isn’t a citizen is a racist. Not a birther.
One of the fun things to fall out from this was being able to listen to Talk of the Nation this afternoon, where even Mara Liasson agreed that the birther thing is nothing but Bad News for Republicans. She detailed the multiple signals that Party leadership have been sending to shut this birther thing down, but apparently to no avail. Because what the Party leadership knows that the rest do not is that people in the middle of the political spectrum find this batshit crazy. Mara also talked about Haley Barbour, standing down largely because he wasn’t going to get past his own retrograde racial attitudes, including the Council of Conservative Citizens.
The noncynical interpretation is that Obama didn’t like how the birther issue drew attention away from more serious concerns about pending legislation. If that is true, then Obama blew a great opportunity to release this record if and when “the Donald” won the primary elections. The Donald would be fully exposed as an idiot then. The cynical interpretation is that Obama released this record on the very day the Donald was making his pre-primary tour of New Hampshire in order to make him look like a fool now…in short, a little payback for the Donald’s recent stream of viciousness and bile.
I heard some nimrod on NPR today, think it was Marty Moss-Cocaine’s show, pulling out the old false equivalency that “Some People” thought Bu$hCo had prior knowledge of the 9/11 attacks. Unfortunately, Marty let that bullshit slide.
So conservative math lesson one:
A few nutty libertarian-crazy off-the-wall conspiracy theorists with an Internet connection is equal to half of the GOP primary voters.
Good to know…
Republican’s dishonesty is matched only by the media’s laziness.
Producing the certificate vindicates the idea that their concerns were legitimate and that he should have done it 3 years ago.
In the sane world it proves the opposite, that this was a whole lot of nothing and a huge waste of time and energy.
Why Obama Waited
Choice.
1) Trump is trolling and is elated that he thinks he has the power to make the White House react.
2) Not to be the fly in the ointment.. that’s a pretty flawless 50 year old piece of paper. Not a wrinkle or yellowed edge or anything. Must have taken the CIA about an hour or so to produce, maybe an hour and 15 minutes with a quick Google search to make sure the street names were spelled right.
3) I don’t care. This issue is like locking the barn door after the horse is stolen.
4) Trump’s grandstanding allows the GOP to bring up the issue in the media and rally the troops without tarnishing any real possible candidate’s image.
5) If Trump is actually on the ballot on election day I’ll eat my shoe.
Come on, Brian. For someone who claims not to care, you sure wrote a long comment… and made a birther case.
And your point #4 is wrong. This issue is huge with the base. The idea that any GOP candidate can hide behind Trump is not an option. The GOP primary will be birther, birther, birther. They won’t drop this issue. Oh, they’ll morph it. We’ve seen the path today. Onward to “how did the black guy get into Harvard?” Stay classy, Republicans.
So forget about any GOP candidate getting through the primary clean.
2) Not to be the fly in the ointment.. that’s a pretty flawless 50 year old piece of paper. Not a wrinkle or yellowed edge or anything. Must have taken the CIA about an hour or so to produce, maybe an hour and 15 minutes with a quick Google search to make sure the street names were spelled right.
Yes, it’s very suspicious that a vital document like a birth record was printed on acid-free paper and stored out of light in a book. Obviously this conspiracy goes farther than we can even imagine.
LMAO.. I seriously don’t care. The man’s in office. I’m taking pleasure in Trump’s ability to stroke his ego at the expense of the political media. I’m not saying the GOP is behind this.. but they’re surely not telling him to stop. They’ll ride his coattails and thank him privately for keeping the issue alive without any consequences.
I just heard a birther clip on AC360 just say the same thing about the page, btw.
Someone in politics once told me “There’s a difference between truth and fact. Truth is the real answer, facts are what we believe to be the answer.”
If you say something often enough, it becomes “fact” regardless of the truth. Our president will be the first asterisk president because of this controversy.
@Brian Shields–
Trump strokes his ego and his member on a daily basis. He is the ultimate “silver spoon” child. He was born into wealth, he’s bankrupted several companies & he really has done nothing other than live off of his name & shameless self-promotion for the entirety of his adult life. Trump’s actions make GWB look like a piker!
HuffPo is reporting that Rand Paul is in New Hampshire demanding to see Donald Trumps long form republican registration.
Still waitin on Trump to release his tax records. He told George Stephanopolous he would release his tax records when Obama releases his long form birth cert. Which, by the way, it legally useless in getting a passport or drivers license according to CNN.
I’m still waiting for Trump to release that thing on his head.
The Onion is reporting a group has formed from former birthers named “AFTERBIRTHERS” who are demanding to see Obama’s placenta.