SuperKenyan
Apr. 27th, 2011 12:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dexfarkinhttp://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2011/04/why-did-obama-wait-so-long.html
So, the White House finally released US President Obama's long form birth certificate today, with reality television favourite Donald Trump taking credit for it. Andrew Sullivan, who at one point was a decent writer, has now fully transitioned into his role as apologist and faux 'objective' columnist, added his own 'tut-tut'ting response to the release, predictably blaming the entire thing on the President since he should have done this months ago.
Really?
I mean, isn't the response to a blatently racist question to invalidate it as a question, as opposed to giving it legitimacy? The subject of Obama's citizenship is entirely due to his race. Not a single white candidate was charged with proving their nationality during the campaign. My knowledge is by no means comprehensive, but I can't think of a single time in the last five US Presidential elections that a candidate was accused of not being an American, and the onus of proof was on them. This is ignoring the fact that the Obama campaign, with no lack of eyerolling and silently exchanged WTF? looks, provided a copy of his birth certificate during the election.
Short answer is that this is not a credible news story, that has somehow been obfuscated and stonewalled by the White House, despite the plucky media's honest attempts to find the truth. It's a push back against a racist driven agenda with no validity, that has been given credence in return for ratings. That's why the White House shouldn't have released it even now, because only mentally deficent fuckwits think this is a legitimate issue.
Of course, the conspiracy theorists have already gone into overdrive, talking about the release as a two and a half year photoshop job and already pointing out 'inaccuracies' in the document that disqualify Obama from holding office.
Personally, I think they should have released this brilliant birth certificate instead:
So, the White House finally released US President Obama's long form birth certificate today, with reality television favourite Donald Trump taking credit for it. Andrew Sullivan, who at one point was a decent writer, has now fully transitioned into his role as apologist and faux 'objective' columnist, added his own 'tut-tut'ting response to the release, predictably blaming the entire thing on the President since he should have done this months ago.
Really?
I mean, isn't the response to a blatently racist question to invalidate it as a question, as opposed to giving it legitimacy? The subject of Obama's citizenship is entirely due to his race. Not a single white candidate was charged with proving their nationality during the campaign. My knowledge is by no means comprehensive, but I can't think of a single time in the last five US Presidential elections that a candidate was accused of not being an American, and the onus of proof was on them. This is ignoring the fact that the Obama campaign, with no lack of eyerolling and silently exchanged WTF? looks, provided a copy of his birth certificate during the election.
Short answer is that this is not a credible news story, that has somehow been obfuscated and stonewalled by the White House, despite the plucky media's honest attempts to find the truth. It's a push back against a racist driven agenda with no validity, that has been given credence in return for ratings. That's why the White House shouldn't have released it even now, because only mentally deficent fuckwits think this is a legitimate issue.
Of course, the conspiracy theorists have already gone into overdrive, talking about the release as a two and a half year photoshop job and already pointing out 'inaccuracies' in the document that disqualify Obama from holding office.
Personally, I think they should have released this brilliant birth certificate instead:
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no subject
Date: 2011-04-28 06:08 pm (UTC)So, there's really a couple of ways to look at it. Why wait for so long? Well, perhaps he decided to treat it as the lunatic, tin-hat wearing nutjob belief that it was, soaked in racism and motivated by xenophobia. From a moral sense, why should he stoop to a level that no President has ever been forced to just to prove his citizenship?
There's also the political side, which is that the 'birther' movement has wonderfully handicapped the GOP. They can't risk alienating the psychotic white supremist part of their base who is absolutely sure that 'goddamn socialist nigger muslim can't be 'merrikan'. They've lost the Latino vote, they've cratered in youth and they're in the process of going to war with the AARP. They need the birthers and the price they pay is getting tarred as even more extreme from the political centre.
I honestly believe that the President likely believes that there's no evidence that will satisfy the kooks and hicks who are convinced he's the product of a Kenyian hospital, so what's the point in trying? I also honestly believe that the political advisors to the President privately click coffee mugs every time Orly Taitz appears on cable news and spouts a new line of completely ratfuck crazy on the side of Republicans.
What I can't stand is the hypocracy of the media attempting to argue that the responsibly to answer to crazy, ginned up lunatic nonsense that has been humped as hard for ratings as possible by the American media lies with the President. Every news agency had available on-record proof that Barack Obama was born in Hawaii on July 8, 1961, and chose to muddy that fact by pretending the claims otherwise had even the slightest credibility or any legitimate points.