White House releases Obama's birth certificate
(CNN) - President Obama released his original birth certificate Wednesday, saying the controversy surrounding the issue had become a "sideshow."
“We do not have time for this kind of silliness. We’ve got better stuff to do," said Obama.
The surprise release follows recent and sustained remarks by businessman Donald Trump, among others, that raised doubts as to whether the president was born in the United States.
“Over the last two and half years, I have watched with amusement. I have been puzzled with the degree with which this thing just kept going,” Obama told reporters Wednesday.
Responding to the development, Trump said, "I have accomplished something nobody else has accomplished."
"I want to look at it, but I hope it’s true," he told reporters in New Hampshire. "He should have done it a long time ago. I am really honored to have played such a big role in hopefully getting rid of this issue."
Earlier Wednesday, White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer said the debate has been "really bad for the Republican Party."
The so-called "birther" debate is "good politics" but "bad for the country," said Pfeiffer.
In an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper Monday, Trump repeated his doubts and said he had been told the certificate was "missing."
A new CNN investigation revealed earlier this week what most analysts have been saying since the "birther" controversy erupted during the 2008 presidential campaign: Obama was born in Hawaii on August 4, 1961.
While the president has made light of the controversy, the question remained political red meat for some of his critics. A recent CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll showed that nearly 75% of Americans believe Obama was definitely or probably born in the United States. More than four in 10 Republicans, however, believe he probably or definitely was not born in America.
See Obama's Certification of Live Birth
The U.S. Constitution says only "natural born" citizens can become president - a vague clause that some members of the birther movement contend disqualifies Obama because, they insist, he was born outside the United States.
Skeptics contend, among other things, that Obama was born in his father's home country of Kenya.
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Hey Look the Ink is still Wet!!
To all of the posters asking "Where is it?" There is a link to the pdf of the document in the story. Thanks for illustrating your lack of skills.
To the posters stating that this issue will go away. Keep dreaming. The people who didn't see the link (don't actually read thoroughly) will beat the dead horse until they are dead themselves.
LindaB,
You are shaming yourself and your country. Please stop. You have no right to speak on behalf of others. I am proud of this hard working President of the United States. I will likely be voting for an extension of his service to this nation.
Although I'm happy to see this Marxist release proof that he was born in the US...why now, after all the legal proceedings, and a state ready to pass a law requiring documents to be on the ballot. I don't know if this is fake or care at this point..I just want this Marxist gone and on the ash bin of history for his many failures while holding this office, like all communists before him...
And all you useful idiots that cry racism... "lick the hand of your masters" and continue to ask for mercy from those that own you, you are no use to us that want liberty.
To the morons shouting vulharities to the Conservatives, one question... WHY didn't your buddy bring this up TWO YEARS ago, instead of hiding it exactly like a criminal would do? The only one looking stupid from all of this is HIM. (And you, with your comments here.)
And the headline on Fox News is "White House Releases What it Says is Obama's Birth Certificate". That "What it says" part is proof enough already that this isn't going to matter. The moron birthers are still going to keep believing there's a giant conspiracy to hide the "fact" that he wasn't born in the United States. Fox is already fueling the conspiracy by putting "What it says" in their headline.
Was that so difficult.
So African is a race????
I like how the last paragraph is worded – a vague clause- freedom of the press how vague is that??? They run stories that are half truths, doctor photos, misled with dramatic headlines and inject as much drama as they can, they use words like congress is at "WAR" or hell you know the rest. Not many people have read the Constitution and its not taught in the schools and even a WP journey said he couldn't understand it and it was like a 100 years old. Don't see any reporters with their vague clauses in syria, why is that?
If the issue is at an end, stop reporting it. Don't you think that our country has much bigger issues to deal with. Possible suggestions: Skewed unemployment statistics, $4.00 a gallon gas, total overhaul of contry's infrastructure or possibly the new Caste System that is taking over our country. You know, the Serfs and Nobels.
I was not a birther but I always wondered why Obama refused to release this.
There is no smoking gun after seeing it so I am still wondering why did he hold it back all these years instead of just silencing the birthers when the issue first came up?
Obama should have just told everyone STFU. Either charge the Hawaii government with fraud or drop it.
So, Obama's mother, Stanley, was 17-years old when she was impregnated by a 24-year old man. That means that Stanley and Obama Sr. were "dating" when Stanley was just 16 years old. That would be statutory rape – even in those days. Today, that would be an episode of, "To Catch A Predator."
Now, IF Stanley had lied about her age so as to not get Obama Sr. arrested for statutory rape, THEN that would be an interesting find. Mr. Trump has said his investigators found some interesting information. I bet that's exactly what they found out.
Next they're going to want the little certificate with his tiny foot prints on it. It will never end.
Obama is not American screw him. He paid 2 million dollars to cover this up. So it's fake. All you little prius people can go suck a big one. Obama sucks
finally, hillary is proven wrong... lets let this thing be now...
I guess the junior president figured out that his plot to keep his birthplace an issue so he could attempt to discredit "birthers" had spun out of control, when polls show that only 1 out of 4 were convinced he was actually born in the United States.
It was a lame attempt to keep people talking about anything and everything but the junior president's policies that are destroying our country.
Only native-born U.S. citizens (or those born abroad, but only to parents who were both citizens of the U.S.) may be president of the United States.
A birth certificate does not prove citizenship.
I was born in Germany but I never held german citizenship.
This is a FAKE. With all the resources the govt and Obama has, they can doctor anything.
Considering there was no record at the hospital itself (until after his election) is a huge red flag.
4 out of 10 Republicans can't read.
No matter, Donald Trump will move on to questioning Obama's grades and how he didn't graduate from college.
Quote from "me" – "The collective IQ of this country is very much in question, shame of these people." April 27, 2011 09:01 am
Oh the irony....
Foxnews.com's take on this: "White House Releases What it Says Is President Obama's Long-Form Birth Certificate"
So now lets get the rest, college transcripts, etc. It is called vetting and it should have been demanded by the press over 3 years ago.
It's was nice of ZERO to finally display what any other person would have done over two years ago.
Soooooo..... What revision is it?
Two years in the making makes me think of the Name of the film... "The Greatest Story Ever Told"....