nytimes: A Certificate of Embarrassment

[spanone]

With sardonic resignation, President Obama, an eminently rational man, stared directly into political irrationality on Wednesday and released his birth certificate to history. More than halfway through his term, the president felt obliged to prove that he was a legitimate occupant of the Oval Office. It was a profoundly low and debasing moment in American political life.

The disbelief fairly dripped from Mr. Obama as he stood at the West Wing lectern. People are out of work, American soldiers are dying overseas and here were cameras to record him stating that he was born in a Hawaii hospital. It was particularly galling to us that it was in answer to a baseless attack with heavy racial undertones.

Mr. Obama practically begged the public to set aside these distractions, expressing hope that his gesture would end the “silliness” and allow a national debate about budget priorities. It won’t, of course.

If there was ever any doubt about Mr. Obama’s citizenship, which there was not, the issue was settled years ago when Hawaii released his birth certificate. The fuller document that Mr. Obama had to request contains some extra information, including his parents’ signatures and the name of the hospital where he was born, but it was unnecessary to show his legitimacy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/28/opinion/28thu1.html?_r=1&hp=&pagewanted=print

[malaise]

1. What was irrational was M$Greedia's continuation of

manufacturing controversy (to quote Woodward) when all the facts were on Obama's side.
Now we can expect all the ReTHUGS and their hacks in the media to attack Obama for responding.

Fuck every one of them every which way possible

[spanone]

2. +10,000,000,000

[Pacifist Patriot]

5. Yep

[malaise]

11. And like clockwork

they're attacking him for responding.
How dare he kill their racist agenda?

[Pacifist Patriot]

13. The mental gymnastics I've seen online have been breathtaking to behold.

[malaise]

15. Enjoy this

http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes/wed-april-27-2011-bernie-sanders

[Pacifist Patriot]

21. Just brilliant! Thanks for the link.

I always forget to watch the show until someone posts a link here. Much appreciated!

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

3. Well, he SHOULD be embarrassed

pandering to the extreme right. again.

He will not convince the teabaggers, and he will not win their votes. With all the important issues, he wastes time on this.

[spanone]

4. reading is fundamental

[Pacifist Patriot]

6. and a lost art

[pipi_k]

8. Maybe...

Or maybe not.

I don't think he really had to do this. Someone else mentioned, and I agree, that this could serve to drive an even bigger wedge between the Republicans and Teabaggers/Birthers.

Any Republicans who dare to say that the issue is now resolved...over and done with...will likely be looked upon with even more disgust and suspicion by the Birthers. Like they (the Repubs) are themselves part of some big "plot". If the Repubs think they'll be able to attract those people, they may have a nasty surprise.

So I guess we'll have to wait and see what the long term effects of this will be...

[Pacifist Patriot]

16. My first reaction was...

Oh please don't stoop to giving in to their ridiculous demands. Then I realized what a brilliant splitting maneuver it was.

[MadBadger]

9. he spoke for ten fucking minutes

Get over it

[frazzled]

14. You should be embarrassed, because you missed the whole point of the editorial

"Mr. Obama was tactically smart to release the certificate" is what it says. The "embarrassment" of which the NYT editorial board speaks is that of the media, the nation, the Republicans feeding this disgusting, racist, stupid ploy.

[malaise]

17. +1,000

:fistbump:

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

18. NYT sees it as smart, I see it as pandering and

a waste of time, beneath the office of President. Enough embarrassment to spread to all parties.

So, there is disagreement.

There are bigger issues to argue about.

[DirkGently]

19. Look at Trump rejoicing in the legitimacy of "making" Obama do this. Now on to the academic records.

They're not even stopping to change gears, much less apologize or be embarrassed. RW Internet whackos have gotten the President of the United States to show them his papers.

Next it will be the school records. A blood test. A public ceremony in which he barbeques a Koran and swears allegiance to corporations and white people and Jesus.

The nuts love this. And the regular corporate Republicans are breathing a sigh of relief, because they can more easily distance themselves from the increasingly painfully, overwhelmingly obvious racism / nuttery of the whole thing. "We made him prove it. No back to our regularly scheduled program of crushing the middle class."

[jmowreader]

22. They're talking Selective Service records right now...

The big thing on DU yesterday was Lawrence O'Donnell bringing Orly on his show to apologize for all the birther bullshit of the last couple of years. She did not apologize; rather, she whipped out what was supposedly President Obama's draft registration and started going on about how that document proved the illegitimacy of his presidency.

There is no way, short of becoming white, that President Obama is going to be a legitimate president in the eyes of those people.

[NYC Liberal]

20. This isn't for the teabaggers, but nice try

putting the blame on Obama.

[deacon]

7. Very well stated. n/t

[KharmaTrain]

10. The Corporate Media Cares Less...

They see the birfers and the Trump circus as something that gets ratings...draws eyeballs right and left. It's a manufactured issue purposely intended to make this President illegimate in the racist dogwhistles the rushpublicans have used for decades. The corporate media has no shame...only an eye on the bottom line. Now we'll see them blame others for "dragging them" into this story...as if Trump walked into all those newsrooms and forced them to do so. Shameful...and there's more to come.

Sadly we live in a country where there are no consequences for being irrational...in fact, you get attention (and money). News is entertainment...easier to play with a manufactured "controversy" than to do serious investigation and reporting. For one all you need are the usual suspects of beltway drinkie-drinkie stenographer...the other you'd need real journalists who cost more money than they bring into the corporate till.

[mulsh]

12. Who keeps this story alive? Our fourth estate. thanks guys.

n/t