This is really pathetic. The birthers will now just move on to the next reason as why we shouldn't have a 1/2 black president.
I'm not an Obama fan, but I actually loved how he's been playing this game up to now. Marginalizing the birther idiots by purposefully keeping them guessing was such brilliant strategery on his part that even a conservative like me had to stand back and respect it. I guess I was giving him too much credit all along. What's he going to do for his next act, produce documented proof that he's not really a Muslim terrorist? WEAK.
Why does revealing the truth and attempting to eliminate ignorance and falsehoods make one weak and a joke?
Because he already had to the extent required by law. What this does is lend an aura of legitimacy to the birther nutjobs, effectively neutering the simple fact that Obama had already supplied what needed to be supplied. He caved, as luckstrikes put it, to a bunch of idiots. Why?
Sorry, I'm not buying this. Obama's whole goal is to eliminate ignorance and falsehoods, yet he waits 2 years? The notion that this is to "reveal the ultimate truth" is actually worse. Why wait then? What has changed on the birth certificate issue since 2008? Answer: Trump
I believe that it proves the birthers' illegitimacy. It was before a silly folklore tale and now it has now been proven to be an utter falsehood fueled by ignorant and most likely racist undertones. Weak is playing games with those that or ignorant and blinded from the truth, strength is revealing what is correct and just while eliminating distractions. The birthers are distraction that have now been proven to have no bases what-so-ever. Trump or whoever can take credit, but that does not change the fact that they are the same people had to stick their hand in the pot of boiling water before they would believe that it was hot.
I think he could/should have waited, but the President's news conference on this was actually pretty good politics. He's using the issue to gain more of an upper hand in the budget debate.
At first I thought this was a bad move, but now I think it was smart. Obama just dropped a nuke on the Republican presidential race. The only person with any money at this point and with any growing momentum was Trump (which is laughable) and he just completely took Trump out of the race. Especially after Trump gave an interview the day before saying his "investigators" had learned the certificate was "missing" (lol). As stupid as it is, Trump had become the face of the Republican presidential race right now thanks to Fox putting him on over and over as well as CNN. He made the "birther" issue appear more mainstream on the right than it really is (no other major candidate wants anything to do with this) and Obama just clipped his balls off.
Why waste a nuke on a turd like Trump? If Trump won the GOP nod, that is an instant win for Obama. Save the nukes for real threats...
Trump had no shot at the GOP nomination. Whoever ends up winning the nomination will be someone with no interest in the birther talk at all and the opportunity to embarrass the republicans on the birther issue would be gone. Right now, because of Trump, the birther issue is mainstream news and directly connected to the Republican party and their presidential hopefuls whether they like it or not. Trump gave Obama the opportunity to deliver a haymaker to the fundraising and general "wind in the sails" of the republican hopefuls on an issue that they aren't really associated with.
It was a power move by the President. With one swiping blow he made a large part of his opposition instantly illegitimate. He has let them gain confidence and comfort in their ignorance. I believe President Obama will now begin to systematically crush the opposition and stride proudly into his second term as leader of the US.
They already were. And if you honestly think this will change the lunatic birther's opinion...well, I've got a bridge I'd like to sell you.
It was also a pretty effective swipe at the media, and probably an attempt to help shape media coverage going forward. He's again presenting himself as the serious one in a room filled with morons. "I know that there is going to be a segment of people that no matter what we put out, this issue is not going to be put to rest. We don't have time for this kind of silliness. We have better stuff to do. I have better stuff to do. ... We've got some enormous challenges out there. We're going to have to make a series of very difficult decisions about how we deal with our deficit and our debt...but we're not going to be able to do it if we're distracted, if we spend time vilifying each other. We're not going to be able to do it if we just make stuff up and pretend that facts are not facts, if we get distracted by a sideshow and carnival barkers."
Giving the spotlight to Trump and taking it away from real candidates is a brilliantly calculated move. Now if we can just get the Palin crazy train rolling again!
