Palin: "Birther," Trig Questions "Seemingly Fair Game"
Since Barack Obama emerged as a candidate for president, he has been plagued by rumors that he was not born in the United States and therefore is not eligible to serve as president. The rumor has persisted among people referred to as the "birthers," even though documents clearly show there is no disputing that Mr. Obama was born in the state of Hawaii.
On her Facebook page early Friday morning, Palin said that "at no point – not during the campaign, and not during recent interviews – have I asked the president to produce his birth certificate or suggested that he was not born in the United States."
However, she maintained that "voters have every right to ask candidates for information if they so choose."
The Facebook note came in the wake of a conversation with radio personality Rusty Humphries, Politico reports.
"I think the public rightfully is still making it an issue," Palin told Humphries. The former Alaska governor said the issue could persist if she were to run for the presidency in 2012. "I don't have a problem with that," Palin said. "I don't know if I would have to bother to make it an issue, because I think that members of the electorate still want answers."
A survey conducted in September showed that the "birther" movement is highly partisan. Palin said the president's place of birth is a "fair question just like I think past association and past voting records -- all of that is fair game."
Palin suggests that political candidates have to subject themselves to undue scrutiny.
"I've pointed out that it was seemingly fair game during the 2008 election for many on the left to badger my doctor and lawyer for proof that Trig is in fact my child," she said in her Facebook note. "Conspiracy-minded reporters and voters had a right to ask... which they have repeatedly."
