The White House has released President Obama's long-form birth certificate, saying the document is "proof positive" the president was born in Hawaii.
The release marked an unexpected turn in the long-simmering, though widely discredited, controversy over Obama's origin. Obama's advisers have for the better part of three years dismissed questions about the president's birth, directing skeptics to the short-term document released during the 2008 campaign. But as the issue gained more attention at the state level and particularly in the 2012 presidential race, Obama said Wednesday that it was starting to distract attention from pressing challenges like the budget.
The president, who discussed the release at the White House without taking questions, said he had been "puzzled" by the enduring shelf life of the issue and acknowledged the announcement may not put the so-called birther controversy to rest. But he told the public and the media that it's time to "get serious."
"We do not have time for this kind of silliness," Obama said. "We've got better stuff to do. I've got better stuff to do. We've got big problems to solve."
He said the country will not solve those problems if people are "distracted by sideshows and carnival barkers."
The document released by the White House lists Obama's birthplace as Honolulu, Hawaii, and his birth date as Aug. 4, 1961. The hospital listed is Kapiolani Maternity & Gynecological Hospital. The name on the birth certificate is Barack Hussein Obama II.
Obama's presidential campaign, in response to questions raised in 2008, at the time posted a short-form version of the document on the Internet. But conspiracy theories continued to fester. They gained legs in recent weeks as Donald Trump, who is toying with the possibility of running as a presidential candidate in 2012, repeatedly and publicly questioned Obama's origin.
White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer noted that what started as Internet chatter had moved into the national political debate and ended up being discussed regularly on mainstream news outlets.
Pfeiffer, on the White House blog, said the president thought the attention was "bad for the American people" and directed his counsel to request access to the long-form document from the Hawaii State Department of Health. The department granted an exception to release the long-form document "because of the tremendous volume of requests they had been getting," the White House said.
"At a time of great consequence for this country -- when we should be debating how we win the future, reduce our deficit, deal with high gas prices, and bring stability to the Middle East, Washington, DC, was once again distracted by a fake issue," Pfeiffer said on the blog. "The President's hope is that with this step, we can move on to debating the bigger issues that matter to the American people and the future of the country."
Trump, speaking in New Hampshire, took credit Wednesday for the president's decision to release the document. He said his team would have to examine the birth certificate and questioned why the White House took so long, but indicated he wanted to move beyond the issue.
"Today, I'm very proud of myself, because I've accomplished something that nobody else has been able to accomplish," Trump told reporters. "Why he didn't do it when everybody else was asking for it, I don't know. But I am really honored, frankly, to have played such a big role in hopefully, hopefully getting rid of this issue."
The document states that Obama's father, Barack Hussein Obama, was born in Kenya and that his mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, was born in Kansas. Click here to see the birth certificate. (First page) Click here to see the birth certificate. (Second page)
Within the last hour over 4,000 comments posted on Fox News ... read a few to understand how others think since Obama's brief Press statement at approximately 9:45 AM. Obama has referred to those who questioned his eligibility as a "distraction" and "silliness". For most, the distraction all along has been Obama's refusal to release his background records; his mocking tones and on-going name-calling towards American citizens who dare question his reasons for ignoring Constitutional law; why it has taken almost three years to release what should have been presented BEFORE he began campaigning; and most importantly, how one can become President in the United States without having BOTH parents U.S. citizens - "natural born" citizen is having both parents citizens of the United States.
Mr. Obama would like to portray himself as a man of mystery - but there is no mystery as to his policies and socialist agenda. No mystery today as to what one man can do to harm a nation or its allies. The issue is not settled in the minds of Americans as to how Obama was allowed to withhold documents that should have been presented three years ago, or why the media and those in Washington have covered for him. It took Trump's recent questions to bring this issue to the forefront. Why?! Why, when states are passing bills to have future candidates present proper documentation. Obama would not have been allowed to run for second-term without presenting his Birth Certificate which may be reason enough to finally come forward with a piece of paper. Let the authorities verify if Obama is a "natural born" citizen - but this time, let's hope they get it right.
One thing is certain and that is there will be no mystery as to why this one-term president will not be given a second chance to continue ignoring the U.S. Constitution, the wishes of the American people, and foreign policies that do great damage to the United States. No President of the United States can be "Mr. In-between" when it comes down to America's security and that of its closest friends and allies.
"But the release of the president’s birth certificate is not likely to silence critics who have called on Obama to release other official documents. The critics — many of whom never bought into birther claims that he was born outside the U.S. — still note a pattern of secrecy surrounding much of Obama’s life before he entered politics. They note that Obama has never unveiled many key documents that presidential candidates release to the press and public. For example: • During the presidential campaign, Obama released just one brief document detailing his personal health, while GOP opponent John McCain released what he said was his complete medical file totaling more than 1,500 pages. The Obama campaign eventually released some routine lab-test results and electrocardiograms for Obama. • Obama refused to offer his official papers as a state legislator in Illinois and did not produce correspondence, such as letters from lobbyists and other information, from his days in the Illinois State Senate. • Obama did not release his client list as an attorney or his billing records. • Obama declined to release his college records from Occidental College, where he studied for two years before transferring to Columbia University. • Obama’s campaign refused to give Columbia University, where he earned an undergraduate degree in political science, permission to release his transcripts. Such transcripts would list the courses Obama took, and his grades. • Obama’s college dissertation, reportedly titled “Soviet Nuclear Disarmament,” has disappeared from Columbia’s archives. • Obama did not agree to the release of his application to the Illinois state bar, which would clear up intermittent allegations that his application to the bar may have been inaccurate. • Obama has not released records from his time at Harvard Law School. Ironically, during his campaign for president, Obama promised he would make his White House “the most open and transparent administration in history.” The image the White House released:
