I haven’t been paying much attention to Donald Trump and his bid for the Presidency, because that moves an annoying entertainment figure into the realm of an annoying political figure, and we try to ignore those except in the cases of very obvious crossovers. (i.e. Sarah Palin.) So Trump has been spouting that “birther” nonsense to anyone that will listen, and Obama’s people actually responded and released his long form birth certificate. Prior to this there was an announcement in the local Hawaii paper and a “Certification of Live Birth,” which should suffice but was picked apart by people looking to find fault. It’s some complicated stuff, and if you’re interested you can read about it here, here and here, but the gist is that the conspiracy theorists were grasping at straws to try and say that Obama wasn’t born in the US and was therefor not qualified to be President. With crazy Trump at the helm, those theories gained more steam. Anyway Obama put out his long form birth certificate, which was filed away in Hawaii somewhere, and Trump is taking credit for it.
“I know that there is going to be a segment of people for which no matter what we put out, this issue will not be put to rest,” Obama said. “But I am speaking for the vast majority of the American people as well as for the press. We do not have time for this kind of silliness. We have better stuff to do. I have got better stuff to do. We have got big problems to solve.”
“We are not going to be able to do it if we are distracted, we are not going to be able to do it if we spend time vilifying each other … if we just make stuff up and pretend that facts are not facts, we are not going to be able to solve our problems if we get distracted by side shows and carnival barkers,” the president declared earlier.
The document released by the White House differs from the one that Obama’s aides made public during the 2008 presidential campaign. Instead of a “certification” of live birth, this was a “certificate,” clearly recording that the president was born on Aug. 4, 1961 in the Kapiolani Maternity and Gynecological Hospital in Honolulu.
For years, Obama’s circle of aides had resisted calls to make the latter form public, noting that a certification is legally sound and what any citizen of Hawaii receives upon requesting documents of birth. And indeed, for some time, that explanation — supported by a a wide swath of other contemporaneous evidence – seemed to suffice.
But some who challenged the president’s citizenship remained unsatisfied, and in recent weeks they found a high-profile megaphone for their cause: business tycoon and presidential flirt Donald Trump. – Huffington Post
Donald Trump is already taking the credit for getting Barack Obama to go public with his birth certificate … saying, “I’m very proud of myself” … but adds, “We have to see if it’s real.”
Trump added, “I want to look at it, but I hope it’s true so that we can get on to much more important matters … he should have done it a long time ago.”
He continued, “I am really honored, frankly, to have played such a big role in hopefully, hopefully getting rid of this issue.”
As for the actual document, Trump added, “We have to look at it, we have to see … is it real? Is it proper? What’s on it? But I hope it checks out beautifully.” – TMZ
The people who don’t want Obama to be President aren’t going to accept this as fact, and as TMZ points out they’ll say there’s some conspiracy behind waiting so long to release it. As Kaiser told me about this issue, sometimes it’s better not to feed the trolls. Look at how Trump is gloating.
All that orange hairdye and hair spray has addled his brain.
Trump can’t even be truthful about his finances. But his revolting hair should prevent him from appearing in public.
Donald Trump can gloat all he wants but ultimately he’s the one who looks bad. This is the same man that was claiming his non celebrity version of the Apprentice was the highest rated show on television when it was on the verge of cancellation for p*ss poor ratings. His campaign against President Obama just highlighted how ridiculous all of this birther nonsense is. Even Karl Rove and other high ranking republicans have been telling Donald Trump and others to shut the h*ll up about President Obama’s birth certificate because it’s making them all look like crazy conspiracy theorists. Obama definitely won this battle.
Every thing I hear about Donald Trump, every single thing, makes me want to stomp his balls to a pulp.
Trump, sit down and shut up. Zip it. Shhh. Shut it down. Keep your hands and thoughts and comments and yes, diarrhea of the mouth to yourself. Let’s see your financial records, your w2, your tax returns, and while we are at it, prenup to Melania, to see how much she gets for boning with you.
I’m good now.
Please tell me that his presidential bid is a joke?
The entire America should ignore Donald Trump from now on. That’s it.
The sad part is he is not alone in this comedy. Obviously people are giving him space to talk and people are listening to him.
He and Sarah Palin are really two big liabilities to Republicans. The two of them overwhelemd other good repulbicans and make the republican party look really stupid.
Of course Trump would be proud of being recognized as the mouthpiece of an essentially racist claim. The man is a bigoted monster and an idiot.
Trump and his ilk make me waver between being violently ill and violently punchy. I weep for our country.
donald trump makes me feel stabby.
Trump’s smoking something. Louisiana being the second state to consider “birther” bills (and Governor Jindal stupidly saying he’d sign it) is what put an “end” to this. Trump was nothing but another sideshow. And ITA- this won’t mean anything to a lot of birthers. They have insulted the state of Hawaii as well as squandered millions during a recession, -worst of all money and time of tax payer funded Hawaii state workers.
I am so thankful that I am not in any way shape or form related to this douche bag (Trump not Obama). Ugh, I would kick my father in the balls and the refuse to have anything to do with him if he was this much a jack wad.
What an unutterable knob Trump is.
I hold the press completely responsible for this nonesense and I don’t mean just the idiots at Fox. Why is this complete idiot being interviewed on every major outlet and being given credence. This country put up with the adle-brained GWB for eight years and overlooked all of this ignorance, especially the press. This man has made mistakes, yes, but not on the level of bush. He is intelligent and gets trashed for that. The most vocal republicans don’t have two brain cells between them, but the press keeps quiet.
The press has hounded this man into the ground (and his beautiful, normal sized wife). I guess they are waiting for the “angry Black man” to reveal himself so they can tell America he can’t be elected and to hide the “virginal white women” from this guy. Sorry, this whole episode has me seething.
I absolutely hate Donald Trump. He is an arrogant, egotistical, crotchity tool bag. I have to have faith that my fellow Americans will not vote for this miserable windbag. God help us all if they do.
When will Trump release his voting records, those that, according to offcials, show that he’s missed quite a lot although he said they’re lying?
Does anyone in their right mind believe Obama had made it onto any ballot, had any of the agencies whose job it is to look for unkosher things found anything?
Well, if Donald is responsible, then he must be the king of the side shows and carnival barkers. Yeah, that sounds about right for that douche nozzle.
I agree with Kaiser about not feeding the trolls. In fact, it was important that Obama never address this nonsense. As if it doesn’t exist. Because, what, he’s going to go around appeasing every moron who’s got a ridiculous theory and a soap box? The President of the Free World should have more important things to do. This is why Obama’s aids refused to release the longer form birth certificate. The issue had been addressed enough and put to bed.
But this is what drives me crazy about Obama – instead of concentrating on fulfilling all those endless promises he made on the campaign trail, he somehow always gets into this nonsense. There was no reason to release the longer form certificate and, least of all, to accompany it with a statement addressing the people who have been demanding it!
Ugh. Oh, and by the way, I’m a registered democrat. Not that it matters.
Now I’m done.
Oh my god just SHUT THE F UP Trump!! No one’s going to vote for you!! I’m sorry for the language but I just can’t stand him! I used to be indifferent to him, but his whole ‘running for President’ thing along with all this nagging for a birth certificate, I can’t stand him anymore! The birth certificate is real, get the hell over it you over tanned useless know nothing scumbag!!
It’s sad that our President felt it was necessary to do that in hopes of appeasing racists who had no intentions of accepting his leadership from the moment he was voted into office. He has dark skin, therefore some Americans will never like him, period. (I’m white, for the record).
Donald Trump is a joke. Republicans are shooting themselves in the foot by screaming “fiscal responsibility” but then promoting this clown who practically has Bankruptcy as his middle name.
So many good comments here. I’m in favor of birther bills. The constitution requires a president be born in the US and it is a simple thing to prove.
Yes, the press is to blame for this. The question was out there and the press is too damn lazy to do a little research and publish the facts. The 4th estate has been in bed with the other 3 for 15 years.
Yes, Trump and Palin are simple publicity pigs, not real canidates. Palin wants to sell her support for a seat in a republican white house cabinet. If the republicans stand by their “don’t tax the rich” platform, they’ll cease to exist as a party.
Forgetting for a moment that this whole Birther issue stems froms a slur…
If Donald Trump gets the Republican nomination, Obama is ASSURED a second term.
@Rita – I don’t think we need Birther bills. More laws, more red tape.. which is exactly the problem with too much government. Respectfully, I feel the Constitution itself should be enough to stand on its own as a law of the land without each state having its own set of guidelines on whether someone is American enough to run for President.
Everyone knows that all the best Americans are born in Panama.
I believe all this “birther” crap is just cover for people who want to slam Obama because he’s half black, but it’s no longer okay to use the N word in public.
@anonymous – he had to do it because the press is f’n stupid. After his recent press conference about the budget, the FIRST question from the press was about this birther crap. He ignored it for as long as possible, before it got to be distracting for the greater good.
I have faith that the American people would not vote the likes of Trump or Palin into office but then I never thought GWB would get a second term …
My FB friends are overwhelmingly liberal and atheist, but the one Republican/Birther/Holy Roller I have as a “friend” and her “friends” scare the life out of me! They think that Trump is the Man and they’re not kidding!!!!!
I agree with the sentiment regarding the press…
In fact, I blame MSM for the birthers, the tea baggers, the b.s. stance on the wars, the price of oil, unemployment, the healthcare fiasco and the fact that my lipstick won’t stay on and keep my lips moist…
And the above is NOT a sarcastic rant either…
BTW…until Donald Trump can reasonably explain what’s going on on top of his head…he can swallow a big can of ice cold, lemon-line flavored refreshing…”STFU”!!! (located next to 7-up in your grocery store aisle)
@Dingles – “It’s sad that our President felt it was necessary to do that in hopes of appeasing racists who had no intentions of accepting his leadership from the moment he was voted into office.”
Agree. It’s never been about his birth cert, just something his moronic detractors leapt upon to try and undermine him. All it ever did was expose their barely concealed racism.
@Annaloo
I totally agree with you. I think every candidate, including Trump, should have to file a full birth certificate with their official filing as a candidate on the federal level and then we don’t need the state laws. The Constitution is certainly sufficient but when there are questions, verification is necessary. All our rights and laws stem from the constitution…live it.
Okay Trump, Obama showed his birth certificate. Now, I want to see your natural hairline.
Whoever still harps on about Obama not being American born is a moron.
I’m not sure whats wrong with any of you for an AMerican president shouldn’t have had gone this long withholding his birth certificate or school records or health records. When do you withhold information…….when you have something to hide? So what makes BO exempt?
I don’t like Trump either (he was kicked out of my golf club for beating, cheating and then not paying) BUT….he did finally get some answers (if they are).
Gary Johnson 2012
I just cannot believe that news stations or anyone in the media for that matter gives this man the time of day. He is the most ignorant (well one of the most ignorant) people I have the displeasure of seeing on TV. He makes America look so bad. Thank you for ignoring him for the most part.
For all the issues America has right now, this buffoon is harping on the presidents birth certificate. Good god.
Only in America would a clown be in the running. Too funny!
I, for one, do not want an Orange Man in the White House…
I am crossing my fingers for a Trump/Palin 2012 Presidential ticket. It would make the Republican party look like bigger morons than the Democrats, and Obama would get a second term.
Unfortunately, there’s that laughing stock of the world thing. A presidential ticket composed of two blowhards who never have an original thought between the two of them, who have written self serving crap books and had their own reality shows. You just can’t make this stuff up.
This makes Trump look like such a bigot.
@ Cara – The state of Hawaii produces a cert. of live birth as proof of birth in their state – and they are under no orders to be at the beckon call of any fringe group who in effect tell them their state laws and protocol are not good enough. And Obama is too respectful of his home state number one, and too busy no. 2, to be at the beckon call of these same loons.
@ rita birther bills are bills begun by birthers, which, is not a good foundation for any bill. A Certificate of Live birth is what many states, not just Hawaii, offer as legally binding proof of birth in that state. Why waste resources with this type bill? The only reason this issue has been a problem is because of a fringe, hateful group that used this issue as a smokescreen. Most republicans are not birthers. Birthers are head cases.
@Rita – “I think every candidate, including Trump, should have to file a full birth certificate with their official filing as a candidate on the federal level and then we don’t need the state laws.”
As a non-American, that sounds entirely very sensible to me. But can I ask a question: why did BO not release this version of his birth cert when the issue first arose? Would it not have saved a whole load of unnecessary grief for him and stopped the bigots and detractors from gaining ground?
At #31, he didn’t go this long. He released a Certificate of Live Birth, which is what the state of Hawaii issues to any citizen requesting their certificates, months ago. He also released copies of the two contemporaneous birth announcements in two different Hawaiian newspapers. This wasn’t enough for Mr. Trump and his Looney Tunes friends. They apparently didn’t understand what a CLB was, and argued that it was completely different than a Birth Certificate… because they are apparently delayed, mentally. Pres. Obama released this because the hubbub would not die, although I do not believe he should’ve engaged in this madness at all – it just gives credit where there is none deserved.
The truth is that the president withheld nothing. He released all necessary documents beforehand, and the crazies chose not to believe it. They’ll find another reason to not believe this one, either, and another reason to throw stones where none belong.
#31, his campaign DID release his birth certificate, the “short form” years ago. Which should’ve been sufficient to quell the idiots who question his birth, but wasn’t. I don’t think he should even have to respond to every moronic allegation.
god, this country is full of idiots.
I cannot believe the President gave into this racist crap. Even if these racists had been present when his mother gave birth to him in Hawaii, it would not matter. I can no longer watch the Apprentice. That’s how much I have started to detest this individual. But I love that the Republicans are showing their true colors.
Why is there a double standard Why has no other president had to show their BC? Why has no other president being accused of lying about their religion? Now Trump is questioning whether the BC is real. He is questioning how OB got into Harvard? It never ends.
Oh boy, thank goodness our President found time in his busy day to give Trump even more media coverage. Somewhere in the Middle East, Hillary Clinton is laughing her ass off at what we got stuck with.
President Obama Birth Certificate was released 2 years ago. Today the President released the Long Form Birth Certificate that is only issued with a written legal request to the State of Hawaii by the actual person or court.
It is disturbing that some people don’t know that any candidate running for President of the USA is vetted/ investigated by The FBI and Secret Service before they can Officially run for President. They must met and pass all the requirements of US Citizenship. If not… they can’t not run for office. President passed all these requirements 4 years ago. He also passed all the requirements to run for US Senate over 7 years ago.
This was a non-issue from the beginning.
@white noise……exactly.
and p.s. The “short form” bc isn’t valid enough to get a state’s driver’s license, so how could it be an acceptable form of identification for the presidency!!!!!
Come on…..if you support the guy, you should thus support his coming forward……NOT almost through his first term. In fact, those who suppost him shouldn’t let him or his camp behave like this for it just opens the door to attack. If I supported him, I’d demand his “transparency” that he spoke so highly of. But hence, I didn’t fall for his “charade” to begin with. I find him to be a snake oil salesman who rekindles memories of the inner city pimps who would try to woo me with all their sweet talk and promise of “glamour” which thankfully, I was street smart enough to know to avoid. You all…..well, you’ll learn the hard way.
Again, Gary Johnson 2012
pps…I’m mulatto (white barry loving ma and a black/brown multi racial anti govt dad)…..just as Bare, so you can’t say I don’t like him out of racism. Thank you and have a great day everyone! 🙂
What was the purpose of withholding it in the first place? If Obama had released this the minute the issue was brought up, that would have ended the speculation right then and there. The people of this country have a right to know that the President was born in this country, it is one of the requirements for Presidency. Although I think Trump can be obnoxious at times and his hair is horrific, I agree with some of the things he has to say regarding illegal aliens, outsourcing jobs, etc.
@lydia, same. i hope others follow.
@txcinderella, he did release the short form before. also, what president has been asked to do this before?
i wish these assholes would just stop hiding behind everything else (the birth certificate, the muslim claims, etc.) and just come out and say it: WE’RE RACIST. admit it. damn.
eta: and before anyone says it, NO. i am not saying that not liking obama equals being racist. but this circus is ridiculous and has never been done before with any other US president. i’ve been alive since reagan was in office, and i clearly remember hw bush’s term, both of clinton’s term, and of course w’s terms. not to mention that i’ve studied political history. there has never been this amount of effort aimed at discrediting a person’s entire existence as president.
It doesnt matter where Obama was born. His mother was an American, which makes him an American. Period. He could have been born on the moon. The Donald needs to go back to fourth-grade civics class.
@ Rita
There is no reason for birther bills. The constitution already states that the pres has to be American by birth. Obama showed proof of his birth when he filed to join the election. This whole mess is born out of racism and right wing extremism.
@kazoo
Simmer down dear. Not everyone who dislikes Obama as President feels that way because of your easy excuse of racism. Some of us have come to the far too late realization that he was in no way qualified for this job. He is in way over his head and it’s becoming more and more frightening. I’m just sick that we didn’t continue to support Hillary Clinton; She had her issues, but she’s a lot smarter than Obama.
@TXCinderella….what I’m finding is, people really will just simply shut down whatever “side” that they’re not on. I read an article yesterday at Truthout about Gary Johnson, and the bottom half of the article was all about trying to lure those who “refuse” to vote repub to just “look” at Johnson with an opened mind. Hence, if you read the comment section, they refuse. It’s frighteneing that people are so stupid that they still believe that it’s about sides, repub and dem, for if the last eleven years have shown us anything, it’s that it’s “their” side, against the rest of us. In God We Trust, try In Corporations We’re Owned.
Actually, I’m glad Trump has gone to this length. The latest poll says 65% of Americans would NOT vote for Trump for President. So, keep going Trump! Let’s piss off 100% of the people and maybe, you’ll disappear for awhile . . . or at least until you find another circus freak act, like Celeb Apprentice.
Rita: The Constitution requires that the president be born in the US
===========================================
The Constitution requires nothing of the sort. It requires the president to be an American citizen by birth. You don’t have to be born in the US to be a citizen by birth. If you gave birth overseas your baby would be an American citizen as long as you are. You wouldn’t have to have him/her “naturalized” once you got him/her back home.
Now that the “Obama was born in Kenya” argument has been shot down the birthers will find something else — like maybe claiming that Hawaii wasn’t a state when Obama was born (it was) or claiming Obama’s mother is really a space alien which means he is only half-human.
🙄
@Marjalane: Simmer down yourself, honey. How come the birthers didn’t require McCain to produce his birth certificate? After all, he was born in Panama.
The whole “Obama isn’t a citizen” argument is racist bullshit, whether or not you’re too obtuse to admit it.
In 1991, Donald Trump was unable to pay a $3.5 billion loan, and he declared business bankruptcy. Plus, this ‘carnival barker’ has had 3 bankruptcies for Trump Enterprises.
http://www.mademan.com/mm/how-many-times-has-donald-trump-filed-bankruptcy.html
Trump is catering to racists when he hypocritically and cynically questions a black president’s very citizenship. Trump has the personal values of a snake. He doesn’t believe his own hype, but happily stirs the cauldron of divisiveness. What an ugly soul.
@marjalane, clearly you lack reading comprehension.
I can’t stand Trump, he sucks.
On to the BO birth certificate thing. It is completely reasonable that he needed to show his birth certificate. It is part of the whole “proving you are an American” thing. If he released it years ago, then that should suffice. If he didn’t then it is not unreasonable to ask him to do it. And I really don’t understand why everyone screams racism. I feel like that is such an easy go to. Yes, there are many racists out there, but America as a whole is smarter than that, so give it some credit. I believe it was always more about BO’s questionable Islamic ties (living in Indonesia and going to Islamic schools as a child) that scared a majority of Americans rather than him being African American. Right or wrong, Islam can be a scary thing after 9/11 here in America. And again, right or wrong, many people cannot help putting Islam and extremist in the same sentence (I personally do know that they are not synonomous).
Pisses me off. Has any other president had to put their birth certificate in the public eye before? Trump is an a**hole.
I want Trump to produce his IQ testing scores. If every presidential candidate was required to produce a certified copy of his WAIS psychological test, dated within the past five years, to prove that his/her IQ is at least 100, we wouldn’t have had a certifiable idiot in the White House from 2000-2008.
@cheyenne, thank you!
@MikeyAngel: ‘Scuse you? “Islamic ties”? What Islamic ties are you talking about? Obama’s father is Muslim so that makes him one too? He wasn’t raised by his father and he has never had any “Islamic ties”.
And for the record, there is nothing in the Constitution that says a Muslim (or an atheist or a Holy Roller) can’t be president.
As for Islam being scary, birthers and Teabaggers scare me a hell of a lot more than Muslims.
The thing is… Obama shouldn’t have had to release anything at ALL. No other candidate has faced such ridiculous scrutiny.
As someone stated before, all candidates for President are thoroughly vetted, if there was anything in Obama’s past that could have kept him from being the president, it would have been discovered YEARS ago. This birther bullshit is meant to distract people from the ridiculous proposals put forth by the same people.
Edit: Ditto Cheyenne. The people who actually believe that Obama is a foreign born Muslim hell-bent on turning the US into a Socialist Republic literally terrify me
LOL Cheyenne – I’ve been saying that everyone who wants to run (and be paid for) a public office should have to take an exam that proves they know the laws, duties, and requirements of the job. I bet half of Congress would flunk!
Part of me wishes Obama had added a “now STFU already” to his statement, but of course, that wouldn’t be proper.
I despise Trump, and I’m pretty sure he’s doing all this just for attention – if he really runs, I’ll be surprised. He really is just a carnival barker.
btw – if anyone is interested, cnn.com has a lot of info on the process, including the correspondence explaining how and why they requested the long form.
“As for Islam being scary, birthers and Teabaggers scare me a hell of a lot more than Muslims.”
Word.
@Rachel “Okay Trump, Obama showed his birth certificate. Now, I want to see your natural hairline” Love it!
Can we make bumper stickers and t-shirts with this?
@Cara – the short form gets you a PASSPORT so a driver’s license is pretty much a given. Which you would know if you bothered to check something other than your Birther gut.
And excuse me, you’re a “MULATTO”? Bwahahahaha! That’s going to be my excuse from now on everytime I say something ignorant.
What, the moon isn’t made of cheese? But I’m a MULATTO.
They say Hawaii is a state but I’ve been there and it’s just an island so it can’t be. I’m a MULATTO so that makes it true.
The Tooth Fairy is my best friend. I’m a MULATTO, you know.
Say hello to 1956, btw.
@Cheyenne
You’re correct as to being born from citizen parents but I thought that was obvious. My point was not specific enough in focusing on non-us citizen birth. My bad.
@Whitenoise
I agree this whole thing never should have been an issue and has been played up by people who want votes who don’t think. BO did himself no favors in not releasing the full certificate years ago and then demand that his opponents do the same.
With the huge number of illegals in this country, this will become more and more of an issue and we should deal with it now.
Wow Cheyenne, chill out. His mother married an Indonesian man who was Islamic I believe. Oh and you are right, you don’t have to be any particular religion to be president, but facts of the matter are that a lot of people are more sensitive to that after 9/11. I didn’t say me, or that is my opinion, but it is how a lot of people felt, hence all the crazy e-mails and Fox news trying to scare the hell out of people. So get off your high horse.
The whole “Birther” movement is so ridiculous to me!
What would be the big deal EVEN IF HE WAS BORN ELSEWHERE? (FYI: I completely believe that he was born in Hawaii to an American mother).
There is zero basis to the idea that someone born outside of the USA would be automatically disloyal and/or a terrible leader and/or act against the interests of the country. The constitution was written at a time where people believed (probably correctly) that there was a risk of a British-born, British loyalist re-integrating the US into the British empire. But… I think that’s not really a problem any more, right?
It wouldn’t have mattered if Obama had been born on another planet, his mother was an American citizen, therefore he is an American citizen. Period. I learned that in elementary school.
I just do not understand why this stupidity was allowed to continue at all. The media should not have given it any credence. He gave out his birth certificate AGES ago.
There hasn’t been any refusal to give it out; he hasn’t been withholding it. He got the same thing every person gets when they request their birth certificate from the state and he gave that out YEARS ago.
The birthers are just a bunch of morons who want to discredit the president by any means possible. Frankly, I don’t think any of them actually believe this crap except the delusional ones. Racists tend to be illogical though…so they just might be dumb enough to not know that any birth certificate you get from the state is, like, legal.
@Rita – Thanks for responding. As I said, it just seems that he could have saved himself a whole load of grief.
I think it’s perfectly valid to criticise him based on his abilities, but it’s been stomach-churning to see such overt racism masquerading as concern about his entitlement to be president.
Wow – I am relieved to see that there are people on this site who actually agree with me! Donald Trump is an idiot. I am deathly afraid that the morons in this country would actually vote for this guy. Anyone in Florida who knows about the idiot who “bought” our governorship knows what I’m talking about.
@ Cheyanne – agree 100%.
I guess the next conspiracy theory is that Obama is not a citizen of earth but a citizen of Saturn or such like! I am however, sad that Trump whom I liked so much before , has bathed himself with SLIME!
@whiteNoise
I think the charge of racism is over blown. Both Dems and Repubs grasp at any little psycological suggestion to plant doubting seeds in people who can’t think for themselves.
Thomas Jefferson said, “The people of a democracy deserve the government they get” and Ben Franklin said, “The success or failure of this Constitution depends solely on the goodness of the governed.”
God help us all!!!!!
Some of you are saying that his mother being born in the U.S. makes him a citizen, but isn’t that incorrect? Doesn’t natural born mean he has to be born in the United States regardless of his parents citizen status?
Regardless, that orange crazy-haired freak would never get my vote. I think he is a fame whore who cares less about the country and more about his paycheck.
I truly wish the media would focus on more pressing concerns like the costs of the 3 unending wars in the middleeast,the price of oil-and why Obama claims he can’t do anything about it,the devaluing of the dollar,the trade inadequacies between U.S. and China and the war on our own borders, but I guess those kind of topics aren’t sensational enough. So the media focuses on birth certificates,extramarital affairs,personal gossip in order to bring in the ratings. A truly sad commentary on today’s political process.I think serious journalism has morphed into entertainment journalism. ABC/CBS and NBC should just dubbed their nightly 1/2 news programs as entertainment news verses serious journalism.
MikeyAngel: The point is that he DID release it years ago but people are still trying to make a big stink out of it as though the one he released somehow wasn’t good enough.
People who are afraid of Muslim people as a whole are stupendously idiotic, to the point where I would assume something was mentally wrong with them. It is WRONG to be afraid of entire group of people based on the actions of a few people within that group. There is no “right or wrong”. It’s just plain wrong.
No Islam is NOT a “scary thing after 9/11”. That particular group of extremists, yes. They are quite scary in the same way that extreme Christian groups like the ones who bomb abortion clinics are scary.
And America is not smarter than racism, trust. I’ve had people say all kinds of racist stuff to me and I’m 25 and live in California.
Honey: Doesn’t natural born mean he has to be born in the United States regardless of his parents citizen status?
==========================================
No. It does not. If you were on vacation overseas and gave birth to your baby while you were on vacation, your baby would be an American citizen from the day he/she is born. You would not have to go through some “naturalization” procedure to get American citizenship for your baby when you brought him or her home.
Can we please put this to rest once and for all? The amount of ignorance over this birth issue is mind-boggling.
Anyone who believed or supported any of this birther issue, is part of the lowest common denominator of this country. Your arrogance and stupidity know no bounds Donnie, and are a very dangerous combination. I find the republicans such an oxymoron, they have two potential canidates in Trump and Gingrich who have had multiple wives and affairs etc etc, but if Obama had the same history, he would of course not have the moral fortitude to lead. Politics are becoming such a corporate freak show anymore.
@ Cheyenne
I didn’t say anything about his birth certificate, I said he was a lousy President, and regardless of where he was born, I’m not voting for him again.
@MikeyAngel: The birthers and baggers don’t need Fox news to feed their idiocy. They will believe whatever suits their mindset. They are already saying the long form birth certificate is a fake — as if someone forged the signatures of both Obama’s mother and the obstetrician. And if they want to believe an Islamic horde is getting ready to overrun both shores of the US and impose a Sharia dictatorship, they will believe that as well.
All I blame in US is Media. Media here is really nuts. There is no professionalism any more. It makes the fame-whore Kim Kardashian look like an angel and it makes Trump look like a smart guy. This guy has filed already 3 times for bankruptcy and thanks to US bankruptcy laws favoring big companies he is still in the business. If he was in another country he could have been cleaning toilets by now. And the media was interviewing Melania the other day as what she will bring to the White House fashionwise if she was going to be a First Lady. Isn’t that ironic that a journalist even consider interviewing her for that?
Who wants to vote for this spoiled bitch who grew up in a communist country and did not have enough bread to eat, but now, she does not bother to wash her panties but each day uses a new one and then throws it. (This comes directly from her on an interview givena couple of years ago). Instead, she could give these money spent to every day panties to children suffering so much in the world. I hope media will stop promoting this family, Kardashians, and other useless human beings.
I’m in favor of birther bills. The constitution requires a president be born in the US and it is a simple thing to prove.
______________
I’m sorry to single anyone out, but this comment and others are the perfect example of why this stuff is so dangerous. People actually believe that he didn’t prove citizenship before running (he DID) or that he withheld his birth certificate (he didn’t). The short form, which the STATE released to Obama on his request is what EVERYONE BORN IN HAWAII gets when they request a birth certificate. The information has been made public for YEARS and even republicans in the state government of Hawaii have repeatedly said he was born in Hawaii, his birth certificate was released and even newspaper announcements of his birth in Hawaii were released. None of it was enough because the people behind the birther movement are not interested in actual facts and they never were.
There was NEVER a real question of where he was born, only thinly veiled racism intended to undermine the president.
Misinformation is dangerous and ignorance/blindly listening to propoganda is destroying this country.
@Honey
I did a little reading for clarification of “natural born” which the Constitution requires but did not define.
“Natural born” also includes individuals born to parents whom at least one of which is a citizen and has lived at sometime for at least a year in the US. Arnold Schwartzenager need not apply.
Ugh, this whole thing gives me icky chills down my spine. My own kids were born in the US to a US citizen mom (me) and an African, non-citizen dad who was raised muslim. Does this mean my kids aren’t citizens? Ineligible to hold public office?
Of course not, but it is deeply depressing to know that about 1/3 of Americans think that about my own little girls (and we are in Texas, so that basically means 70% of the people we see every day).
I wish Obama hadn’t given in to the bullies just because it doesn’t work. Giving the first format of his birth certificate didn’t satisfy the birthers. This one won’t, either. I think that laws demanding candidates provide documentation is creepy and divisive — the language I’ve heard about AZ legislation includes the word “satisfy” as in satisfying the question that you are a citizen, but what if some people won’t be satisfied no matter how much evidence you supply?
The only plus side to all this is my little hope that the Donald’s quest for documentation will lead us to a peek at his and Palin’s college transcripts. I would rather enjoy that, I think!
If trump runs for President, I want to see his birth certificate immediately, release all of his tax records, his bankruptcy filings, his weird need to be in charge of Miss America and Miss Universe (two dinasaurs from the past with women in bathing suits), etc. I cannot believe that people think that THIS President had to release his birth certificate, but no one before him did. And what is the only difference between this President and the others…take a guess. I
gnorant people will never be satisfied and will never admit to the actual reason he is asked to do something no one else had to do before him.
I only wish to point out that there are alot of ignorant arrogant comments on BOTH sides of this argument, in this thread. Celebitchy sounds like a Yahoo flame war today. Sad.
@whatever
You refer to my comment as “dangerous” and yet it has nothing to do with racism or politics. It merely states that the constitution requires a person be “natural born” and I want the constitution to be followed.
What is truly dangerous are people who feel we can side step constitutional requirements, which leads to the side stepping of civil rights, gay rights, religious rights and all the laws in this country. Yes, every candidtate for every office should prove they are elligible to run for that office. If it turns out that someday a president is found not to be a “natural born citizen”, he should resign or be impeached immediately.
CoffeeTalk, there are plenty of stupendously idiotic people who are afraid of Muslims here in America. Again, I am not one of them. But there certainly are plenty of them. And because there are plenty of them, yes, Islam is scary to many people after 9/11, although it should not be. You are absolutely right, it is the extremists of anything that are the scary ones, Christianity included. As far as his birth certificate, if he released it years ago, then I don’t understand why everyone continues on with it, they need to grow up and shut up. It should be the same for any politician. As someone else here said, I am pretty sure that if he did not have the right paperwork to be president than it would have been discovered a lont time ago. And to take that a step further, if that were the case, how the hell did he become a senator? I am sure there are plenty of racists out there, but I do not think that every person who does not like BO is racist, or doesn’t like him for racist reasons. Some of us just don’t want him to be president because they do not like the job he is doing. For the exact same reason people didn’t like GWB, they didn’t like the job he was doing. Sometimes it really is that simple.
On a side note, as a republican, all of the options suck. Trump, really? This is the best they have? I really cannot stand any politicians. I think they all lie, cheat, and steal from the American public. They are all con artists. I think each side makes a mockery of themselves by wasting so much time trying to discredit the other, when they are all really working for the lobbyists.
I don’t like him and I don’t care about the stupid certificate. His “Hope and Change” platform was a crock.
Furthermore, again, I don’t care, but it could be a total fake. Really, it took this long to trot it out. I’m sure there are many with the means to whip up a fake and don’t tell me it’s not possible. As to being vetted and such, same thing. If powerful people wanted him in…
He and his cabinet need to get our freaking soldiers home and work on the damn budget.
Donald Trump for President and Lindsay Lohan can run for Vice-President.
Rita: The FBI began investigating candidates, publicly, starting in 2008-so any bill that has to do with the birther nonsense would be a waste of time and money.
If a person isn’t a real citizen of the United States and they were running for public office, it would be found out pretty quickly. We don’t have bills like that because that’s the first thing people check-are they of age, have they lived here for however many years and are they a citizen. Those are the first bits you need to become President.
As an American citizen I am apalled at Donald Trump, the media and anyone who supported this outrageous accusation. No other President has been under this much scrutiny as President Obama. Sometimes I really despise this country and what it does NOT stand for. There is no equality or justice for our President. This is so embarassing.
@coffeeTalk
I agree birther bills are a waste provided some official agency is certifying candidates as elligible. I wonder if the FBI actually checked John McCain’s birth certificate and why didn’t the FBI standup and say BO was checked out? All I’m saying is that I want everyone to be fully vetted in accordance with the constitution.
It took our president this long to come up with a counterfeit birth certificate????
Surely Trump’s hair alone would disqualify him from the ultimate high office?
This is Donald Trump talking on Fox News last month:
Does this fool eat a bowl of Krazy Krispies for breakfast every morning? Maybe his birth certificate says he’s a Muslim?! Since when do they put a baby’s religion on the birth certificate?
Ten will get you twenty that the baggers will call this certificate a fake because it doesn’t say he’s a Muslim on it.
@ Rachel
“Okay Trump, Obama showed his birth certificate. Now, I want to see your natural hairline.”
@OXA
“All that orange hairdye and hair spray has addled his brain.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I read this entire list of comments and those are the best.
But I do agree this has always been about ugly racist behavior.
Plus I am more amazed that ANYONE thinks that the FBI did not properly vet Obama.
***************
Now for my own bias rant.
I want someone… anyone… in DC to tell me why I am being forced to pay $4.00 a gallon for gas. That is what matters to me. Two months ago I was paying maybe $2.50. Which was too high.
I don’t believe for one moment that is the true value of it.
The entire Nation is being priced gouged. And the White House it letting it happen.
So if Trump wanted me to think he had any clue, what so ever. He would be out there screaming about the price of gas. A issue that really needs addressed.
But that would be a real issue. And lord knows Trump does not want to actually have to make a real argument. He just wants to carry on with his racist behavior.
Anyone who criticised Bush was labled anti-American. Anyone who criticised Obama is a racist.
Keep the public fighting amongst themselves.
Dance, puppet, dance.
It shocks me that anyone would be daft enough to believe the birther garbage, even setting aside the FBI, CIA, and the Secret Service investigations that all potential POTUS’ go through that the Clintons wouldn’t have found out any and all possible dirt and destroyed him 3 years ago.
POTUS should have ignored this nonsense.
That being said, Trump is a joke. Sure he is rich, but he is a rich, loud mouthed nitwit. His ideas about foreign policy are horrible.
@Patricia: It only took the birthers a few months into his presidency to come up with a counterfeit birth certificate. They posted a long form birth certificate on the internet saying Obama was born in the Republic of Kenya in 1961. The only problem was, Kenya wasn’t a republic in 1961, it was still a British possession; and the part of Kenya they claimed Obama was born in was actually a part of Tanzania.
___________________________________________________
@Hautie: Trump can afford $4.00 for a gallon of gas. He can afford $400.00 for a gallon of gas. The fact that you and I can’t afford it means nothing whatever to him. He probably wishes people like us didn’t exist.
***@Rita- I believe in this case, the Constitution WAS followed. This would be the 2ND time Obama has released records that no other sitting president has had to.***
OBAMA WAS VETTED. Here we are in his THIRD(!) year, and he is STILL dogged by this? We have so many other more pertinent and pressing issues in the US. .
Some people today, you could show fossil evidence of species adaptation patterns over time, and they still would not believe evolution exists. Whatever you demonstrate, they will blindly deny deny deny any acceptance. That’s the “thinking”, and some people are hopeless for it.
This whole birther movement showed that some people hold more dear dramatic, wild conspiracies than truth…truth was provided for before, during and after this man ran and should be good enough. We can only surmise WHY it wasn’t good enough for certain folks.
We are watching a very slow tarring & feathering of Obama. Today was just a shameful and sickening day for the US, regardless of your political background.
Gah, this is gross. I just want to go back to bashing Gwyneth and her flat mouth.
@Hautie – Here’s why your gas is $4.00 / gallon:
Nearly 20 years ago Wendy Gramm and her senator husband Phil Gramm created the Enron loophole when Mrs. Gramm chaired the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) under President George H.W. Bush that cleared the way for trading energy futures on the commodities exchanges. On December 21, 2000, President Bill Clinton signed it into law. In 2001, the two largest investment banks in the nation, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, teamed up with British Petroleum (BP) to start their own exchange called the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) to handle commodities transactions. In January of 2006, George W. Bush made it possible for anyone investing in commodities to hide their identity, turning the ICE into a powerhouse exchange overnight. When the Glass Steagall Act was repealed, deregulating the banking industry, banks and investment banks merged; further, because of the commodities deregulation under Clinton, then Bush, banks are now able to set the price of commodities by having their analysts forecast pricing and purchase large quantities of commodities through the banking end on exchanges they own and control.
The person who has the greatest influence in changing these policies is New York Senator Chuck Schumer. Schumer sits on the Rules, Economic, Judiciary, Finance and Banking committees. When it comes to anything related to finance, Charles Schumer is the single most important man in America. His office doesn’t accept e-mails, but you can call the office at 202-224-6542 and tell whoever answers the phone that you would like Sen. Schumer to please lower the price of gas at the pump.
@hautie
I’m not in DC but I’ll tell you why you are paying $4.00 for gas. In the past year the dollar has lost 15% of it’s value so to buy foreign oil, we pay more dollars. The US is 15 trillion dollars in debt and going deeper into debt at a rate of 1.6 trillion per year. In 5 years, China’s economy will be bigger than ours. We are paying $4 because the world has lost faith in us and the dollar.
If we had no debt, gas would be $2, unemmployment would be 0%, and we would welcome people wanting to immigrate to this country. All other issues like “rights”, the environment, immigration, social security and the like mean nothing in a bankrupt country. What does freedom mean when you have no money to enjoy it? Taxes and spending are the only real issues. Everything else is meant to diswayed, divert, and confuscate the issue.
Rita: They are investigated-and like someone else said, if Obama hadn’t been properly investigated by the FBI, CIA or any number of other agencies, the Clintons would have used their considerable resources to find something, anything, to take him down in the years that they were all campaigning.
The bottom line is that there is no need to support birther bills because candidates for president are already investigated by a number of agencies, whether they publish their findings or not.
And from my understanding, there is no vetting clause in the United States Constitution. Vetting is done by the party the candidate wants to run under. There is no accordance to the constitution because vetting isn’t mentioned in the constitution.
Ugh, Donald Trump. He needs to go away. He’s such a typical Republican, really. Such a joke, like Sarah Palin. I can’t say that doesn’t make me a little happy, since it makes the Republicans look even worse.
And jeez, is it just me or this racist? If Obama was a white guy, I doubt anyone would care to see his birth certificate. The elephants just like to make a fuss and get themseves in the news, even if they look stupid.
Now, Trump, please show us your tax returns:)
Last comment…I know I know… can we go on without my crap?
Anyway, never look in the direction that a politician is pointing. The repubs put Trump out there to plant seeds of doubt and test the wind as to what the people are thinking. After this bogus issue, another bunch of BS will make the news. The Repubs are much better at this than the Dems. None of the current string of Repubs will get the nomination but the Repubs like to flush the crap out first so the real candidate is a relief to the voters.
I am not a dem because they are just as incompetent. If you want change, vote against all incumbents in the primary. If you wait for the general election, the incumbent will win and it will only get worse.
@jenna, whoa. and see…this proves the point mikeyangel made, LOL. all politicians are the same. different colors & mascots, but playing for the same team.
re: vetting. coffeetalk is right. however,for ANY high level government position, you must pass a secret security clearance. i know several people with these, and verifying all background information is DEFINITELY included. and not just your background…your parents, siblings, friends, spouse, former roommates, former spouses, etc.
Seriously, on this issue — it’s part of the Constitution. He has been foot dragging on a Constitutional requirement and spending millions of dollars to keep it sealed wh/is too long for a “Constitutional scholar.”
Go with name calling if you want, or if you put a dialogue out there have the maturity to accept people’s real issue instead of making it up for them b/c you support a guy no matter what he does.
It is very much the same as his illegal war in Libya. You have to go to Congress before engaging in a foreign conflict. That’s that.
This man has us in 3 wars, and his war is not following the Constitution.
While we’re on the subject…
http://www.theonion.com/articles/trump-unable-to-produce-certificate-proving-hes-no,20250/
(Trump unable to produce certificate proving he’s not a festering pile of shit)
Trump is a douche. I”m also very sad about the ignorance of so many people in regard to the Constitution. Birth on American soil is not a requirement to be President, as long as one of the parent’s is American.
Why didn’t the “birther” question come up in regard to John McCain? McCain was born outside the U.S. (in Panama).
Finally, we can put this whole ridiculous issue behind us and get down to the real news…Mitch Daniels is oh-so-close to announcing his run for 2012. I just read 2 really great articles about all his accomplishments in the past 6 years as Gov. of Indiana. Very impressive!
Actually McCain’s status was questioned in 2008 because he was born in Panama. Two bipartisain lawyers were hired to research it & they found he met every Constitutional requirement to run. This was all done publically and basically kick started the Obama debate. Had he done what McCain did in 2008 this would be a non-issue. Way to wait until the country is falling apart to finally deal with the question. Anything to distract from his complete lack of ability to lead this country. My dislike for Obama has nothing to do with the color of his skin or what his wife looks like. I dislike his lack of leadership and disagree with the majority of his polices.
You refer to my comment as “dangerous” and yet it has nothing to do with racism or politics. It merely states that the constitution requires a person be “natural born” and I want the constitution to be followed.
__________
Not saying you are racist, or did you start the birther thing? Of course not, I hope. However, what is DANGEROUS is the fact that you seem to think he didn’t prove his citizenship years ago, most likely from listening to the birthers and not actual facts. That is, in fact, extremely dangerous.
Seriously, on this issue — it’s part of the Constitution. He has been foot dragging on a Constitutional requirement and spending millions of dollars to keep it sealed wh/is too long for a “Constitutional scholar.”
_____________
Yet another example of birther inspired propoganda. He did NOT drag his feet. His birth certificate was released in 2008. It is irrelevant that it was not the long form. That is not required. The short form is what the state of Hawaii gives to EVERYONE. Please stop believing the lies spread by the extreme lunatics on the far right. They have long known he is a US citizen. The whole thing is to undermine his authority as president, since feeble minded Americans will believe ANYTHING a politician says, as long as they keep repeating it. Case in point, weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Repeated until everyone believed it, even though it was a LIE from day one. This is no different and people need to stop pretending that today is the first time that his place of birth was proven.
The REPUBLICAN governor of Hawaii said he had perosnally looked into it and found it to be not credible. So did McCain. It is and always was a lie. Time to let it go and stop repeating the lie that he didn’t prove his citizenship. He did. Years ago. And nothing was ‘sealed’. Ever.
It is a constitutional requirement when you are Black but not when you are white apparently since it never mattered before.
Trash his policies, that is what being a politician is about. That is not racist. Just as not liking Bush was not unAmerican. But anyone who thinks this birther issue is about anything but race is as crazy as Trump.
trump and palin are the real issue, their fame seeking know no bounds, no matter what they claim about Obama, which is a smoke screen btw, people voted for bush in spite of everything, and we are still paying for and cleaning up his mess, but Obama is a classy guy/pres not to bring up who decided to go to war, oil price,health care, money woes,etc, let us never forget, what party (republicans) started this mess.
I wish Obama didn’t have to stoop to their level and release the long form. They are such morons and still won’t believe him, so why bother? If he were a white republican none of this would have even been an issue. Birthers are just racists.
I wish my gas were $4 a gallon. I paid $4.19 yesterday.
How do I know Trump isn’t a muslim? Because he says he isn’t? So now we believe someone ISN’T a muslim just because they’re white? Trump needs to get busy proving he’s not a muslim.
I’m from Australia and two things about this post – what is up with Trumps hair, is he really serious about that? Secondly, our dollar is worth just a bit more than yours at the moment and I have done a quick calculation because we have metric and we pay the equivalent of approx $5.22 a gallon for petrol. What are you guys complaining about??
I think the reason Obama waited so long to release the long version was to make the birthers look more like idiots. They got themselves into such a frenzy and then bam here it is, now what are you going to say.
Seriously, 1) if you Americans don’t like Obama, don’t vote for him next time, but please don’t bring up silliness to dumbing down the whole world. To the world, Trump and Palin are more dangerous than Taliban. 2) Be happy at least you have a representable president at this moment. All politicians are lousy but some of them can not even talk properly like an educated adult.
I think Americans are very lucky to have a president who is at least decent. Try Berlusconi, Sarkozy or Hu jintao, or even imagine Trump as your president for half-second — yes, just half-second, because if the image lingers longer than one second in your petit brain, you will have a stroke immediately.
As a non American, I have to say that the level of political discourse in that country has gotten RIDICULOUS in the last decade or so.
It’s little more than a witch-hunt wrapped up in a flag.
Gays are going to ruin everything, foreigners are going to ruin everything, sex ed is going to ruin everything, Muslims are going to ruin everything, health care is going to ruin everything, thinking about why we do things is going to ruin everything…
It must be exhausting to follow American politics closely–It’s all anger, tempered with a dose of “lalalala–I’m not listening”.
I get annoyed by its infighting and misery and I’m just a casual follower.