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.
I bet 99.9% of you liberal waste bags can tell me what Obama had for diner last night, being as though your head is shoved so far up his rear. Good luck with that and enjoy your record fuel prices, douuble digit inflation and soaring debt.
Well thank goodness that the technology to create fake documents does not yet exist. For if it did, we could have things like illegal immigration; identity theft; underage beer buying; and who knows what else. Why, the CIA or KGB might even make up things to achieve whatever. Whew, I am relieved. In any event my liberal sycophants, you guy BHO is done. Bank on it; love it; live it. HEADLINE: JIMMY CARTER SAVED-Handsome Articulate Black Man Rescues.
Some of you are just down right mean! Sure it's a law requiring our president to be born in U..S.A. but come on! This right here exemplifies why our country is in disarray. All anyone wants to do is argue about who's right and who's wrong. There is no right or wrong, just do what's good for the country as a whole! Is that tooooo much to comprehend? Stop fighting with each other and work together to make this the best country ever! Geesh!
Looks to me like the Obamama was statutorily raped by the elder Obama. If she was 18 at the time of birth she was 17 when impregnated by the Kenyan tomcat who was 24 or 25.
White people please stop!!! Is this what is really important now a days??!! The man showed you his birth certificate a long time ago and that wasn't good enough. He's the president of the United States why would he lie about where he was born just to get in office? Get over it, the people have spoken, this time the minorities won!! Bush was a golden ticket for your ideas and ways and now he's gone. Do you hate him that much to constantly bring petty negative attention to America's eyesight? This shouldn't have been an issue in the first place. The only people that are worried about this are Rich White Republicans.
My only opinion/comment is/was if I have to show and Certified/Seal Embossed Birth Certificate to get a Passport...why wouldn't you need to provide one to be President of the United States...Certificates of Live Birth are not acceptable to get a passport.
The Saltines still will not believe!! LOL
Well Trump what'cha gonna do now?
Why has all the text and some of the white of the original document been lifted and put on a different back ground? I can photoshop better that that. I think this version is being presented to further the controversy, not end it. I'm not a birther, but this is a weird pdf.
This birther issue is such a waste of breath. I know the Republican party is grasping at straws-look who they have as potential presidential hopefuls. They will try to disprove this isnt the actual birth cert. It will never end when you are grasping for straws.
LindaB-ummm ...yea he isnt gonna get fired.
OK Rethuglicans, what now? Maybe Obama isn't Black?
*********************************************************************************************************
LOOL< typical uneducated liberal. Hussein Obama in fact is NOT black except in skin color. He is the product of a BI Racial marriage and is half white.
AS is the norm for the libs, he is politicizing this aspect of his race.
It goes to show you how unreliable Donald Trump, the Tea party, Birthers, and Republican idots are. All of them are idiots. Barack Obama is doing a wonderful job. If he was white or any other race this would not be an issue. All of them can fall off a cliff !!
this should have been brought up BEFORE he got elected. now there is no way to tell if this is real or not. what is real is the fact this is a corrupt government period and we can't believe anything its says or does. If you don't agree you are not living in reality right now
This is the same Certificate of Live Birth he released 2 years ago. Take a look at it in the PDF. It is not his Birth Certificate. What does he think I am blind?
The "M" in Dunham and the "M" in the Obama signature are obviously not the same. One slants differently from the next. Also the typed "M" on the P.m. is not the same sized font as the rest of the type. I think this will raise more questions than answers. It looks like some of this has been forged or altered.
I'm a registered democrat and voted for Obama.
As it's a constitutional requirement to be a natural born US citizen, I'm almost more annoyed with Obama and his White House for not releasing this much sooner. For years, there has been so much distraction about whether or not Obama was born here. Why not just set the record straight from the start?
While I've never doubted that he's a US citizen, I did have concerns that he was hiding 'something.' It's not like people were asking for personal details about his private life; they were just asking for authentication that he is eligible to be president. Seems like this is something that should be have been released a long time ago.
Shameful now Trump needs to put up all the dirt that he has hiding in his closet or shut up. Lately he has been looking like a Jersey Shore want-a-be with his freaky orange tan and bad day haircut.
This does nothing to change what he has done to America and the American People. WORST POTUS in all of recorded history. He will hold the record for decades at least, if not centuries. Ok lefties, commies, socialists, and pinkos, let er rip...
Looks like Trump is already getting things done. More than we can say for Obama. "Yes we can" – No you can't.
Why did he spend over $2,000,000 covering it up?????? Why was this so difficult????? Now he can get back to driving inflation which is the reason YOU pay more at the pump now. Thanks Malbama.
this is really a non issue, but you gotta ask, why spend 2 million hiding this in phil bergs lawsuite and suddenly produce it, with this government, i dont rule out a forgery..but as I said it's a non issue, barry has dual citizenship in the usa and indonesia.and is there for disquailified to be the presidnt....but hey, why let a silly thing like the law get in the way of the lefts agenda to socialize america....and why the certificate of live birth, instead of this from the get go ?
Only in racist america does a president with a muslim name have to prove he's born here.
FYI all presidents in the past names are of European descent. Why didnt we ever ask any of the others to prove if they were born here?
There is so many things going on in the country and people are soooo ignorant!!! Who cares if the President was born in the US GET OVER IT!!!! Focus on your own family and keeping your job!!
Yes!!!, thank you sarah, there are much more important things to worry about. the energy czar, Stephen Chu, wants to see $10 a gallon gas. What about the mexican border? El Paso/Juarez is more dangerous than Iraq or Afganistan, but the president sees nothing but peaceful poor people who just want a job and a safe place to raise their families. The president wants to turn the country into a socialist state. Well we had one it was called the USSR and we all know how successful that little experiment was. History has a way of clearing up chaos. Wait until all the young voters graduate from college and find that the Obama administration has destroyed any chance that they will be able to find a job. They can't afford to drive a car at $10 dollars a gallon for gas. They cant afford to buy a home. They wont be able to afford a family so abortion will be the answer to that problem Lets see how they react then. If you are under 50 you have a great world to look forward to.
So now he has TWO birth certificates? Why is it that this supposed hospital in Hawaii would not release these to begin with? Has anyone told obama's Grandmother that she and his half sisters were not at his birth when they have told all along they were??? By the way, THANK YOU "LindaB" for telling it like it is going to be!
the osamabama is not an american. being an American is a philosophical concept that is the antithesis of everything the osamabama stands for. he and his conies are a danger to our country and the world.
Great, let's move on. But first a journalistic criticism. The logical fallacy is guilt by association. The fact is that the vast majority of Constitutional scholars agree that "natural born" means born in the US. Not stating that was bias reporting. Now let's move on. Re-elect or defeat the man based on your view of his policies and leadership. Don't like them, vote him out, like them, then re-elect.