Glad Someone Said This

Comments

[Noticed]

I am sure that you objected to Hillary Clinton's campaign bringing up the birth certificate issue back during the Democratic primaries.

[Not Larry Sabato]

Noticed, what's up with the bitter comments in every thread?

[Noticed]

Here I thought they were caustic!

[warren]

Is the question of Pres. Arthur's birthplace similarly painful to him? Does THAT issue, which continues to this day, similarly demean the office of the Presidency?

Trump did not have to prove he was a US citizen because no job he ever held requires it. The Presidency does require it, so if there is ANY question, then ALL available evidence should be presented without delay.

[TJ]

First of all, birthers are idiots. Second of all, Obama could have avoided this entire spectacle by doing this when he was first asked. Third of all, it has nothing to do with the fact that he's black as the guy in the video says. It has to do with the fact that he comes from a family that spent a lot of time living in foreign countries when he was a child.

[Steve Vaughan]

It's a settled question. There was one guy running for president in 2008 who wasn't born in the United States. It was John McCain. But he was eligible for the presidency because he was born to an American citizen in the Panama Canal Zone. Obama was born in Hawaii, that's a state. End of story. If the Republicans keep harping on the crazy stuff like this they'll have no one but themselves to blame when he's re-elected.

[Heather]

Obama Sr. hassled about his time at Harvard too.

"In a memo dated 19 May 1964 an immigration service official appears to be conspiring with Harvard University to get rid of the student:

Obama has passed his general exams, which indicates that on academic grounds he is entitled to stay around here and write his thesis; however [Harvard] are going to try to cook something up to ease him out.... They are planning on telling him that they will not give him any money, and that he had better return to Kenya and prepare his thesis at home.

Another immigration memo, from June 1964, records that Harvard officials were trying "to get rid of him" and "couldn't seem to figure out how many wives he had.""

[jus' sayin']

Long winded blow hard.

[Wolfwood]

So when John McCain's eligibility was questioned (on the front page of the NYT) because he was born in the Panama Canal Zone, was this also deeply racist?

The only three explanations I can come up with for holding one to be racist and not the other are: hypocrisy, deep stupidity, and insanity. Which is it?

[Wolfwood]

Also, please tell me why the opposition to Clarence Thomas for SCOTUS wasn't deeply racist. How about the "Uncle Tom" depictions of Colin Powell and the "Aunt Jemima" ones of Condoleeza Rice?

Would it also be racist if someone had said "You know, you don't look 35. Show up your birth certificate so we know you're eligible?"

I suspect that we both know the answers to all these questions.

Then again, I guess there are several possible answers. One of which is that certain people define "racist" as "someone I don't like, even though I voted for Obama specifically because he's black."

[localgop]

"Malcom X is an exceptional American."

I turned the video off at that point.

[Steve Vaughan]

Wolfwood, Oh please.
The question about John McCain's eligibility was asked and answered in 48 hours. The birther stuff has been going on for nearly four years. Long after the question had been definitively asked and answered for anyone with a lick of sense.

[Michael]

I'm more inclined to think Trump is an opportunistic, self-promoter than a racist.

That said, why am I not surprised that someone so obsessed with race such as Baratunde Thurston would see it as something racial?

[Bubby Hussein, Hillbilly Sheikh]

I appreciate the effort by the Republican party to once again build a majority on a platform of racism as did Richard Nixon in 1968, and Reagan in 1980. A rich and stanky tradition rises again. A renewed deal with the devil. A bright, clear choice for America.

[change]

A video of a racist calling other people racists.. too funny.
I particularly like the part where he talks about just how “white” trump is…
Funny how nobody, I have ever heard, has said anything about how “black” Obama is; but everyone who disagrees with his views is a racist.
Remember it was Hillary Clinton who started all this stuff, I suppose she is a racist also.

Since Obama is half “white” does that mean that people are only half racist? It is very confusing to try to keep up with racists such as the guy in the video and Obama’s pastors.

I could care less if he were purple, I just wish he was more qualified and actually wanted to do the job as opposed to running a never ending campaign.

[warren]

Malcolm X _was_ an exceptional American. I disagree with most of his politics, but that does not detract from his exceptionalism.

[DanielK]

Change, I think the fact that now Obama has released his birth certificate puts the burden on those still holding on to the "birth pipe dream" that it isn't based exclusively on race. I have a new found respect for Mitt Romney who openly said that he believed Obama was born in the United States and didn't give a half ass "I have no reason to doubt" response but never saying he was born in the United States.

I don't think this has to do with how "black" Obama is but that he doesn't "look" like the previous presidents or that he might be Muslim. Either way, only those extremists will hold onto this fantasy, a majority of the voting population won.t.

[200 Grande]

Obama released his birth certificate during the '08 campaign. That was the end of this matter.

What is this, now? Why is this still going on?

This issue demeans the entire country.

[change]

DK,
I agree with you, my point was that it seems that more on the “left” (like this video) wish to make this more of an issue than whatever “fringe” group wanting to push it. This stuff started with HRC and her group and has now been passed on to others.

There will always be “extremists” on both sides, the difference is that Obama (et al) seem to want to paint all their “opponents” as believers in these types of issues (and are pretty good at it as we can see from some of the folk here); and their goal is only to win elections, not to better the country.

As I said, I just wish he would do the job he was elected to do instead of continuing to campaign for the next one. My belief is that if you are doing a good job, the bosses (voters) will see it and you will get the credit you deserve.

I have always held that he was not ready for the job due to lack of maturity and experience and I sincerely believe he would have been a better president at 60 than he is able to be now. This is unfortunate for him and for the country because he has not had the opportunity to grow up and temper his ideology for the betterment of the nation.

He has so much skill that is being wasted on “politics”, that could have been better used to unify and move our country forward. I would bet that when he writes his memoirs at 80 or 90 he will look back and submit the same, in the “regret” column.

[Tatum]

Winston Churchill's mother was American. In the 1930s it would have been easy to believe he may not have been born in England.

Obama's father is not from the U.S. It's easy to believe he may not have been born in the U.S.

You guys think everything's about race.

Do you ever get tired of being enraged?

[Tatum]

I didn't like Geo. W. because he spent too much money, ran up too much debt and gave the Gov't too much power. Obama's more of the same, just worse.

I don't have a problem with him because he's black. I have a problem with him because he's a lousy president!

[Kevin]

"It's easy to believe he may not have been born in the U.S."

Except for the fact that he released his birth certificate years ago showing that he was born in Hawaii, sure it's easy to believe...