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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The 'birthers' won't miss a beat. Facts have no meaning to those morons.
Well, but it is not saying that he is not a muslin(muslim) , nither he is not socialist, or he is not racist(Glenn beck) what else? they would find all kind of crap to say.... they just hate his guts, it does not mattar what ever he does , they wont like it.
so he better work his way and ignore them in order to do something for the country regardless of the elections too, because his job is to serve the country and do the right for the goodness of the nation, not to satisfy haters trying to get reelected.
Such a big deal over this? It won't appease the birthers anyway. Now they'll want to analyze the ink on the paper to make sure it's 50 years old. So disrespectful. They wouldn't be doing this if his grandmother was still alive. It's embarrassing as a Nation. The modicum of respect I had for the Donald is now permanently gone.
Trump got the President to do what he wanted. He got the President to release his birth certificate. Maybe we have the wrong person in the White House.
Now that Jack*** Trump is taken full credit. What an egoistic manic
This is only a computer image, which could be altered. Also, where are the college and university transcripts, and health records?
Well, now we know that trump's out of the picture, can we focus on a real candidate who isn't a birther who can unite folks from across the political paradigm?
Ron Paul 2012.
Donald Chump.......you are fired. Now it's your turn. You said that you would release your tax returns. Bet you will not do that. FOOL.
Will Donald Trump now provide a birth certificate for that thing living on top of his head?
I find it curious that the Tea Party, or 'Tea Baggers' as most term the group, is targeted. The Tea Party movement has nothing to do with birth certificates – it has to do with liberty, which is being stifled wholesale by both parties.
What will people say now!! Ummm...."it's the economy stupid?"
it's not that we don't think he's a citizen, we don't believe that he's a NBC. there's a HUGE difference between citizen, and natural born citizen. this is stuff that you're supposed to learn in a basic high school government class. Clearly they're not teaching this anymore. anyone born in the US is a citizen. not everyone born in the US is a natural born citizen. it takes TWO citizen parents not one. TWO. even the father of the 14th amendment states as much quite clearly. Obama's father was a citizen of Kenya/United Kingdom not once did he ever apply for citizenship.
Yes, now the reporters will stop asking Trump about the damn birther issue and he can use his interview time to talk about real issues. That is if he gets any interviews anymore on msm.
Its about time that this was produced so that the real issues could be attended too. I still don't understand why it took such a long time to just show the certificate. I also love how CNN has this under breaking news.
@LindaB: are you serious? Nobody was more arrogany than W and where you when he went into Iraq! The birth certificate thing was a joke! I can't believe the President even listened to those idiots. Meanwhhile MILLIONS were against the Iraq war and Bush went in anyhow. THAT is arrogance!!
Why 2.5 years to produce it? Why millions of dollars to fight it? What has he managed to hide by now? Way too late, even if not monkey business happened. It was way too late about 2 months into your presidency. You proved total and absolute disregard for the people of the USA who wanted transparency. You have yet to show your college records, your law school papers, anything at all.
You are a loser in my book, and always will be.
Can't wait unitl 2012.
What tookj the idiot so long? Thats all he had to do to begin with...distick!
Shenandoah, you're making my region look stupid. Stop it. Yes, his father was a Kenyan. The ACTUAL point is that his mother is AMERICAN. That means he's American, as well. It doesn't matter if he was born on Mars, he'd STILL be an American. Birthers are ignorant fools who salivate over the little tidbits that Fox lets fall from their table. Now, if you will all kindly stop wasting our oxygen, we can go about our business.
Why is is White under all of the letters? Looks like it was put in. On my birth certificate there is not white around all of the typing? It doesnt make sense?
I don't get why he didn't just show this 3 years ago – was he drawing republicans into discussing a non-issue? What a waste of time and therefore money
Interesting to note that nobody's comments are mentioning the loss of freedoms. You're voice that is currently being freely expressed is targeted by the administration. This is not about Left or Right, it's about the Constitution and our Libertys. Liberals and Conservatives, you are being used. When the power brokers are done using you to establish their control grid, you will be thrown overboard and left to die. As an illustration, we're on the Titanic my friends, it's time to united around our Constitutional libertys and resist imperialistic national take-over.
LindaB: Hmmm....I'm confused. He won the election....soooo.....you can't guarantee his loss "at any and all elections."
...I'm just sayin.
Wow...he was born here...great. This still does not negate the fact he is the worst president this country has ever had. To say he is incompetent would be flattering at this point.
Bush (who was horrible too) was blamed for gas prices, why do the liberals not blame Obama? What happened to all you war protesters?
This president is a clown.
Now they can put it in his presidential file just like they should with any one who is president of the United States. This should be a requirement to be compliant with the US Constitution and so there should be no questions asked.
Read it is not a birth certificate.