Obama Birth Certificate Fuss "Ridiculous"

By: David Morgan
Topics: Barack Obama

Anti-Obama and right-wing bloggers have been throwing more and more criticism against the wall to see what sticks. One of their more fanciful charges is that the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, born in Hawaii in 1961, is not a U.S. citizen and therefore cannot be elected president.

In the face of Internet insinuations that the Illinois Senator was actually born somewhere outside the U.S. and therefore does not fall within Article II of the Constitution ("A natural born Citizen") and the 14th Amendment, Barack Obama's campaign has posted a copy of his birth certificate on its rumor-discrediting Web site, www.fightthesmears.com. But that still isn't good enough for some skeptics.

Some Web chatterers question the authenticity of the document, pointing to the lack of a state seal on the online copy. Some also suggest a black rectangle (a redacted identification number, obscured by the state for security reasons) hides something more revealing.

Earlier this week The Honolulu Advertiser reported that Hawaii's Department of Health receives requests weekly for a copy of Obama's birth certificate. [It was their concern about the unending requests that prompted the Obama campaign to take action.]

Officials said that under the law only people with a "tangible interest" (parents, spouses or other relatives, or the subjects themselves) could obtain a copy.

"Our state law is very firm on information on vital records," Health Department spokeswoman Janice Okubo told the Advertiser. "You cannot receive someone else's birth certificate — to protect the person's confidential information."

As for the persistent accusations that Obama is not a U.S. citizen, Okubo replied, "It's pretty ridiculous."

The ruckus recalls a similar controversy during the GOP primaries when the fact that John McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone — when his father was serving at a U.S. military base there — caused some to claim he was ineligible to serve as president, not having been "natural born" on U.S. soil.

A bipartisan team of lawyers declared earlier this year that McCain's 1936 birth to U.S. citizens outside the continental United States did not disqualify him from being president.

David Morgan
David Morgan is a senior editor at CBSNews.com and cbssundaymorning.com.

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by yvettetjones April 27, 2011 11:00 AM EDT: I think that its a little too late and too stupid to debate whether he is a natural born citizen or not. You should have known all of that before voting him in. Americans are both racist and hypocritical to the ideas that serve them. Obama possesses all of the intelligence to be President, graduating from Columbia and Harvard, representing American citizens and the community but he's not allowed to run for President??? ITS TOO LATE - SORRY. The U.S. says that Mexicans are not natural born citizens, but their state is on United States territory. Their good enough to clean our homes, do construction, cook for us but they can't walk around their own country? Not only are they citizens but they are natives of this country which the colonists took over to exploit their gold. My point is its too late. Obama is President and his mistake was trying to work together with both Republicans and Democrats at the same time. They had planned from the beginning to discredit, to slander, and to racially profile Obama, so I knew from the beginning that it was going to be tough for him. BUT GUESS WHAT? ITS TOO LATE. Everyone needs to calm down because he only has a few years left. He's not going to be President forever. And as a Hispanic African American I would have voted for McCain had he not been so old and sickly looking. We have to respect his title and not make ourselves as Americans look like fools. He is still our President. What I now want to see that everyone in Congress or Senate produce their original birth certificate and disclose their financial records.; Reply to this comment


by NONPOLITICAL July 27, 2010 4:15 AM EDT: I HAVE NEVER LEFT A BLOG OR COMMENT ON THE INTERNENT BEFORE & I AM NOT POLITICAL AT ALL. HOWEVER, THIS OBAMA BIRTHER ISSUE STRUCK ME AS NEEDING SOME COMMENT & ADVISE BASED ON 1ST HAND KNOWLEDGE OF A SIMILAR PERSONAL EVENT. OK, HERE IS MY STORY AS IT RELATES TO THIS OBAMA BIRTHER THING. (I'LL TRY TO KEEP IT SHORT AS POSSIBLE.) I WAS BORN IN 1967. I WAS ADOPTED FROM A CATHOLIC ORPHANAGE AT 3 MONTHS OLD. MY BIOLOGICAL PARENTS IDENTITIES WERE SEALED, AS SECRET, THROUGH THE STATE COURTS. DURING THE COURSE OF MY LIFE, I USED AN ORIGINAL 1967 "ANOUNCEMENT" OF LIVE BIRTH CERTIFICATE THAT WAS ISSUED TO MY ADOPTED PARENTS WHEN I WAS 3 MONTHS OLD. THIS DOCUMENT WAS LEGAL & REAL ID UP UNTIL ABOUT 15 YEARS AGO WHEN I APPLIED FOR A PASSPORT. I WAS ADVISED THAT THIS DOCUMENT DID NOT COUNT AS A TRUE BIRTH CERTIFICATE BECUASE IT ONLY LISTED AN "ANOUNCEMENT" OF MY BIRTH & DID NOT LIST MY PARENTS. I WENT TO THE COUNTY HEALTH DEPT. HERE WHERE YOU CAN OBTAIN A LEGAL & REAL "CERTIFICATE" OF LIVE BIRTH. I WAS ISSUED A 100% LEGAL & GENUINE BIRTH CERIFICATE THAT STATED MY ADOPTED PARENTS AS MY "REAL" PARENTS. THIS RE-ISSUED B.C. WAS A LEGAL DOCUMENT ISSUED BY THE GVMT, AND IT'S FALSE AT THE SAME TIME. IT LISTS MY ADOPTED PARENTS AS MY "REAL PARENTS", SOLEY BASED UPON MY WORD TO THE CLERK WHEN SHE MADE IT FOR ME. HERE IS WHAT BROUGHT ME TO THIS COMMENT SIGHT: I SAW A PHOTO OF THE "OBAMA" HAWAI BIRTH CERTIFICATE THAT WAS RECENTLY MADE PUBLIC. IT'S IDENTICAL THE LEGAL BIRTH CERTIFICATE THAT I OBTAINED 15 YEARS AGO. BOTH ARE RE-ISSUED CERTIFICATES ON A MODERN PIECE OF PAPER W/ MODERN COMPUTER PRINTED WORDING. THE SEALS ARE REAL, ETC... I BELIEVE THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE OBAMA MADE PUBLIC IS A MODERN RE-ISSUE, JUST AS MINE WAS. HOWEVER, HERE IS MY POINT: MY BIRTH CERTIFICATE IS BOTH LEGAL & BULLCRAP AT THE SAME TIME. THE ONLY WAY TO EITHER PROVE OBAMA IS AN AMERICAN OR PROVE HE IS A KENYAN IS TO PUT ON PUBLIC VIEW THE ORIGINAL 1960-61 ISSUED BIRTH CERTIFICATE, IF A REAL ONE EXISTS. THIS DOCUMENT WILL BE ON PAPER PERIOD TO 1961. IT WILL HAVE THE ORIGINAL TYPED WORDING FROM A MANUAL TYPEWRITER OR AN OLD 1950s ERA PRINTER. ALSO, THERE SHOULD BE UNQUESTIONABLE PERIOD IMPRESSED SEALS ON THE PAPER. ALL HAND WRITTEN NOTATIONS SHOULD BE IN PERIOD BALLPOINT INK, OR POSSIBLY FOUNTAIN PEN INK. (THAT ERA IS IN THE TURNING POINT PERIOD FROM FOUNAIN PEN INK TO BALLPOINT INK). I AM TRYING VERY HARD NOT TO BE POLITICAL, BUT I SMELL SOMETHING VERY FOUL WHEN THE GVMT. IS FIGHTING TOOTH & NAIL TO HIDE THIS ORIGINAL DOCUMENT. THIS "RIGHT TO PRIVACY" SHUCK & JIVE GIVEN BY OBAMA'S CAMP SMELLS RIPE OF HIDING SOMETHING. FROM MY EXPERIENCE (AND I HAVE HAD A LOT IN THIS FIELD) TRULY INNOCENT PEOPLE DON'T PULL THE "VIOLATION OF MY RIGHTS OR PRIVACY" CRAP WHEN THEY WANT THE WORLD TO KNOW THEY ARE TRULY INNOCENT. THE USUAL "VIOLATION OF RIGHTS" CRAP IS ALMOST ALWAYS A DEFENCE LAWYER'S TOOL IN TRYING TO GET A GUILTY SUSPECT OFF. IF HE REALLY HAS NOTHING TO HIDE, OBAMA HIMSELF WOULD HAVE INSTANTLY MADE THE ORIGINAL BIRTH CERTIFICATE PUBLIC. COME ON!!! I WOULD, YOU WOULD, JUST ABOUT ANYONE WOULD.... THIS WOULD HAVE JUST ABOUT PROVEN HIS CITIZENSHIP IN A SNAP & ALL THIS MESS WOULD BE OVER. OF COURSE, OBAMA HAS NOT DONE THIS. I WILL SMELL A RAT UNTIL HE PROVES OTHERWISE & SHOWS THE ORIGINAL DOCUMENT, AND IT IS EXAMINED BY AN IMPARTIAL EXPERT BODY AS BEING GENUINE OR NOT. ONE MORE POINT: IF THE ORIGINAL BIRTH CERTIFICATE WERE TO BE MADE PUBLIC BY SOME COURT ORDER, IT SHOULD BE HANDLED BY A DIVERSE GROUP OF PEOPLE AT THE TIME. THERE SHOULD ALWAYS BE A WITNESS. IT SHOULD ALSO BE IN A CAMERA'S EYE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. THIS WOULD HELP DETER ANY CONSPIRACY THEORY GOOFBALLS OF SAYING OBAMA HAD AN "OPERATIVE" MAKE A GOOD 1961 FAKE. THE CERTIFICATE WOULD HAVE TO BE HANDLED JUST LIKE EVIDENCE IN A CRIMINAL INVESTIGAITON (I AM A RETIRED POLICE DETECTIVE & I KNOW HOW CHAIN OF CUSTODY WORKS). IF IT IS NOT HANDLED PROPERLY, A FORGERY WILL ALWAYS BE SUSPECTED, NO MATTER WHAT IS PROVEN THROUGH A FORESNIC EXAMINATION OF THE DOCUMENT. (MATERIALS FROM 1961 ARE STILL READILY AVAILABLE ANYWHERE TO DO THIS. IT'S NOT THAT LONG AGO.) TO SUM IT UP QUICK, I WILL ALWAYS BE VERY SUSPECIOUS OF OBAMA BEING AN AMERICAN UNLESS I SEE HIS ORIGINAL 1961 BIRTH CERTIFICATE FOR MYSELF. MY COMPLIMENTS TO WHOEVER FOUND THE ORIGINAL 1961 HAWAI NEWSPAPER ANOUNCEMENT OF BIRTH FOR OBAMA. THIS DOES HELP THEIR CASE A LITTLE.; Reply to this comment


by JudgeFrench August 13, 2009 1:01 AM EDT: The only proof that you can actaully have to prove Obamas claim he is a natural born citizen is a long form birth cert. The one that was posted online, I believe it is real, but it don't mean jack. Does not prove you were born a Natural Born Citizen. Without required proof, birth cert provide is worthless!

And the US does limit certain subjects from US citizens. One subject US filters is vaccines, information on what is in these shots US requires us to give our children. If you can get out of US interent without a trace you can find what I am talking about. You better sit down when you read about it, or view videos.

So with that said, everyone remember the guy who had on ebay.com the Obama Birth Cert. For Sale for 1 mil? I got this email from him the other day below, and I am fueling the fire. The only reason this will not post is if the US stops him or stops video from playing in US.

quote:
Yes (and still have), and thank you for writing. You'll see the BC this month (August, 2009). Stay tuned to my youtube channel, youtube.com/inspectorsmith. Also you can take a look at an article I've written, you can find it by searching LUCAS SMITH on google. My article will be on the first page of search results at the bottom. You?ll see a picture of me standing adjacent to a cow. Or you use this link, http://www.google.com/profiles/110044766822103526426; Reply to this comment


by actornaught August 19, 2008 1:24 PM EDT: John''s citizenship public debate is comparable the one over BO''s.

Wacky 9/11-conspiracy grade nonsense.

Move along, nothing here for you to see.; Reply to this comment


by americanvote August 19, 2008 3:42 AM EDT: Just prove it!! Where is the seal and the sig. How can we vote for someone who is not natural born. W; Reply to this comment


by ipublius August 18, 2008 9:06 PM EDT: Senator John McCain was not born in CONUS. He was born to American parents stationed in the Panama Canal Zone, not on American soil. A law had to be passed by the current Congress which declared him eligible.; Reply to this comment


by luvienne August 18, 2008 8:37 PM EDT: Ignorance is alive is alive in America. People with brighter minds and degrees would not have let Obama get this far if he wasn''t American. This tactic might work for someone who wants to be spoonfed by the Republicans *** machine. But Americans are showing an interest in the truth and voting their OWN mind, instead of being told what to think and how to vote.; Reply to this comment


by actornaught August 18, 2008 1:29 PM EDT: Posted by misha128 at 10:07 AM : Aug 18, 2008

It''s alot easier for ''cons like jongood to win an arguement if they get to redefine what and who they''ve been told to rail against. You have to let go the concept that they actually think about what they say.

I listened to oreilly one day interviewing a history professor and PhD about a book he''d written, and billo refused to accept his definition of "fascism". Pretty damm funny, until you realize the idiots listening would only hear billo.; Reply to this comment


by misha128-2009 August 18, 2008 1:07 PM EDT: JonGood53 - What is your definition of fascism? Traditionally it appears to be alignment of the state''s power structure and business interests. If that is so, are the fascists not the Republicans that have provided relatively free access to the nations treasury for contractors in Iraq without requiring minimal levels of performance? Including the contamination of troops with unsafe water, death and injury to troops from faulty construction, prison facilities with walls that are structurally deficient (currently housing birds and sand), police training centers that are filling with sewage and many other incomplete or non-existent projects.; Reply to this comment


by reunionpi August 18, 2008 1:01 PM EDT: Obama''s mother''s original Social Security Number Application

webofdeception.com/obamamother''sssapplication.html; Reply to this comment