President Barack Hussein Obama delivered a beautiful speech yesterday at a press conference held to address the matter of…his birth.
Numerous politicians have confirmed his citizenship, the validity of his birth certificate and the general constitutionality of his presidency, yet Donald Trump, Sarah Palin and others continued the cry started in his 2008 campaign, calling for a public showing of his birth certificate. What I do not understand is how these people think he could have been given the oath by Chief Justice John Roberts, been accepted as president by Congress and served for 3.5 years all without anyone ever checking his birth certificate.
However, despite the irrationality of these complaints (and they are irrational, not to say that means they are invalid), Obama took the high road and made a strategic move; he chose to respond to his critics rather than ignore them. Speaking to members of the press in a video which the White House uploaded on Youtube (aren’t THEY tech savvy!), Obama addressed the concerns about his country of origin and announced that the White House has uploaded his birth certificate online for all to see.
In fact, FoxNews reports that “Mr. Obama had to get Hawaii to waive a law that prevents the long form birth certificate from being photocopied or released to anyone, including himself.” This is one explanation for why Obama did not release his birth certificate to the general public earlier, although he did release his “certificate of live birth” during the 2008 campaign.
I respect Obama immensely for treating his critics with respect and showing that them he is willing to respond to their concerns, as half-baked as they might seem. However, Obama steered clear of validating them, instead asking Americans and the media why they are choosing to focus on such an inconsequential piece of trivia when monumental decisions are being made in Congress as to the budget and the future of our nation. Good for you, Obama!
Obama’s speech reminded me a lot of a classic scene from the American President, in which another charming, first-term president up for re-election chooses to respond to the vicious gossip being touted around about him.
On another note, according to a Gallup/USA Today Poll, only 43% of Americans were convinced that Republican Presidential hopeful Donald Trump was born in the United States. So where’s your birth certificate, Donald?