You Wanted To See It: Barack Obama’s Long Form Birth Certificate (*UPDATED*)
As James Joyner notes, the White House has released the President’s long form birth certificate and, via the Twitter feed of White House Reporter Mark Knoller, here it is:
Here’s a full size version.
Now, don’t some of you just feel really stupid right now?
UPDATE (Alex Knapp): – You can view the certified copy of the birth certificate here. You can also view the correspondence to obtain the certificates here. Please note that in order to obtain this information, Obama had to request a waiver from Hawaii’s Administrative Rules, which was granted in recognition of his status as President of the United States. In other words, getting these documents isn’t something that just anybody can do.
Prediction: This will not satisfy conspiracy theorists.
Second Prediction: Donald Trump will double down on his birtherism.
The typewriter used to type that wasn’t invented until 1972.
Also it’s just another COLB!
š
I look forward to the cavalcade of theories as to why it is fake.
It’ll take a miracle.
I already know the next argument they’ll make (some have made it already). They will say that the President is not a natural-born citizen because both his parents weren’t American citizens at the time of his birth. It is an argument without legal merit but, hey, they’ve spent two years making an argument without any factual support so I doubt they care.
Wait….in about 20 minutes the drudge report will claim the font used wasn’t invested until 1965, and brietbart and the others will follow suit (though there will not be any truth to this).
Best article I’ve read so far….”A new CNN investigation revealed earlier this week what most analysts have been saying since the “birther” controversy erupted during the 2008 presidential campaign”
THEN WHY HAS CNN BEEN PUTTING THE BIRTHERS ON TV EVERY DAY SINCE 2008!!!!!!!
Sorry PJ, you beat me to it!
Like I said in the other thread, people believe what they want to believe. A photocopy or whatever isn’t going to placate any wingnut.
Obviously the Obama administration noticed that the birther movement was starting to be pushed to the fringe of the GOP, and was in danger of it not being tied around the neck of a future general election opponent, so they had to throw something in to stir the frenzy back up.
And it only took a bit over three years to get it out… I guess Trump finally got under Obama’s skin enough to finally try to kill the Birther issue, instead of keeping it simmering.
Thank you, Trump. This might be the greatest service you’ve ever done for our nation.
J.
This document proves one thing.
We have someone in the presidency who was so unqualified and ill prepared for the position that he allowed this issue to fester for two years before releasing it. How politically obtuse would a person need to be to go this long without realizing how divisive this issue was?
Letās hope people like James and Doug finally step back and take a hard look at how hapless this poor guy is.
If I was part of the Obama reelection campaign, I would have argued to sit on this information until enough of the Republican candidates had embraced birtherism. And not just the presidential candidates.
On the other hand, maybe this is actually long enough.
Jay,
He released proof of his birth two years ago. The fact that 43% of the GOP still didn’t believe he was born here just proves how ignorant and idiotic the base of the GOP has become, which explains the success of people like Palin, Bachmann, and Trump.
jwest,
Just because I didn’t believe an insane conspiracy theory about the President, that didn’t mean I ever thought he was a good President.
Unfortunately, the GOP seems intent on nominating the crappiest candidate possible to run against him.
After having read the actual correspondence that the White House has released, I’m sorry to come to the obvious conclusion.
This is misuse of Presidential Powers and Obama should be impeached!
Doug, if he released “proof” two years ago, then what’s being released today?
More convincing proof. More convincing proof he’s withheld (or, at least, not actively released) for two years.
Kind of like John Kerry’s military record, which he promised to release, but never did (except to three reporters sworn to secrecy, including the Boston Globe reporter who was also Kerry’s biographer). But Trump never went after Kerry like he did Obama.
J.
Jay Tea, he released what a citizen gets when asking for a certificate. That should have been enough. But crazy people are crazy and will always be crazy.
I would ask for the feet prints, but the doctor probably cut them off to make some quick cash, so I won’t.
His mom’s signature is illegitimate since she went back and wrote her legal first name in parentheses! This proves that Obama was never actually born!
My first thought is that the timing was designed to end the media’s fascination with Trump, so that they renew their focus on more serious candidates. However, it’s also possible they wanted to stop the state-level birther ballot laws.
It would be nice if the media really focused on the fact that nearly half of the Republican party believed something that was known to be false. But if they didn’t already, they won’t now. Darn liberal media!
I already know the next argument theyāll make (some have made it already). They will say that the President is not a natural-born citizen because both his parents werenāt American citizens at the time of his birth. It is an argument without legal merit but, hey, theyāve spent two years making an argument without any factual support so I doubt they care.
Actually, as one explained to me, his father’s citizenship somehow imparted dual British and American citizenship on Obama, and that disqualifies him.
Or his mother’s age makes him a “second-class” citizen, an American but not enough of an American to be president. (By the way, the birthers don’t particularly like when you point out that their argument is dependent on defining people born American into at least two classes, one of which is capable of being president and one that’s a lesser form of citizen who can’t.)
I’m picking on you, Doug, because your “prediction” came true some time ago. The times I’ve kicked the birthers, a few of them speak up to “educate” me on the nuances of their argument. I’ve tried to resist it, but a few of their details — sadly — have stuck in my head.
J.
I, for one, am glad the birth certificate issue has been put to bed.
Now we can move on to more important issues like Obamaās academic records.
The sad thing is, jwest is serious.
JayTea, yes, you’re not a birther, you just regurgitate what they say as often as you can…
“Second Prediction: Donald Trump will double down on his birtherism.”
I’ll take the other side of that wager, Donald Trump will declare victory and bask in his total awesomeness, while searching for a new attention-getting scam.
Jay,
I’m well aware that those arguments have been raised before, and rejected out of hand be every court of law they have been presented to.
Of course, that what happens when your legal champion is a real estate agent/dentist who got her law degree from a correspondence school
“My first thought is that the timing was designed to end the mediaās fascination with Trump, so that they renew their focus on more serious candidates. However, itās also possible they wanted to stop the state-level birther ballot laws.”
Agree, but more importantly, the polls, the Donald, and the state legislation were signalling a descent chance that a public official with actual standing to do so, was going to challenge Obama’s listing on the next ballot.
No! Noooooo!
Why would he do this? I love the birthers. They’re the best thing to happen to the GOP since Watergate or maybe the impeachment of Bill Clinton.
I am very, very disappointed in Mr. Obama.
So. On to the next form of thinly-veiled racism. Is it the school records thing? Or is there some other crazy I haven’t heard of yet?
You win! I just saw footage of him giving himself a severe fluffing over being able to do something no one else could do. He may be the biggest a-hole I’ve ever seen.
@jwest
Or someone so politically astute that he allowed nutcases like yourself to run amok with this bogus theory and thus, in a carrying-coals-to-Newcastle fashion, inject the Republican party with the extreme stupidity bacillus.
Next stop on the stupid train, Academic Records Junction.
“Agree, but more importantly, the polls, the Donald, and the state legislation were signalling a descent chance that a public official with actual standing to do so, was going to challenge Obamaās listing on the next ballot.”
You got that right, PD.
Iām well aware that those arguments have been raised before, and rejected out of hand be every court of law they have been presented to.
My, Doug, you’re parsimonious. They’ve been rejected out of hand by everyone with a smidgen of sanity, integrity, and/or intelligence.
And no, PJ, I don’t repeat their nonsense “as often as I can.” Only when it’s necessary to remind folks that these birthers are nuts.
That’s the core of one of their favorite fallback arguments: that Obama was born in the US to an American mother, but that isn’t enough to qualify him to be president.
Personally, I find that nothing short of obscene. The ONLY distinction between Americans is “Natural” and “Naturalized,” and the distinctions even there are minimal. There is no third group of “second-class” Americans who were born citizens, but not “real” enough to enjoy all the privileges of citizenry that their “real, super-duper American” betters get.
I can’t think of anything more un-American than that whole theory.
J.
Michael,
Don’t worry little fella! The birthers will still be here! We’ll just now know who is the ultra-racist (Wiley will continue to find new ways of being a birther) and just the kind of racist (those like jwest who focus on the ‘academic records’ to try to show that Obama was a product of affirmative action).
The road goes on forever and the party never ends.
@Jay
“Actually, as one explained to me, his fatherās citizenship somehow imparted dual British and American citizenship on Obama, and that disqualifies him.”
Look, that’s a really, really stupid argument — one I hope you’re not supporting it. I’ve laid its stupidity out before, and to do it again would be tedious. I’d only ask that you think real hard — real hard — about heritability (and it’s characteristic of transitiveness). And further reflect that if the argument is sound, damn few of us are qualified to be president, even Ronald Reagan.
As I’ve stated before, the birtherism thing is purely about group identity. Focusing on whether or not any of it is actually true is like spending Christmas going around trying to prove to people that Santa Claus is imaginary. Acting as though it is true is part of identifying yourself as a member of a particular group of people.
Trump seems to be the only one running for the Republican nomination to get this so far. Denying birtherism is a rejection of the Republican base.
They seem to have taken “anybody but Obama” as some sort of challenge. “Really? ANYbody? How about……”
sam, I am not going to answer your 10:38 comment here.
Because I already did at 10:31.
J.
Yeah, I twigged later. When you wrote “Actually, as one explained to me”, I guess you meant, ‘Actually, as one “explained” to me’.
Neil,
I will put aside your allegation that I am a racist for now, knowing that liberals are conditioned to throw out that accusation whenever they canāt make a logical argument.
But in order to probe the depths of your ideological purity, are you stating now that Barack Obama was admitted to Occidental, Columbia and Harvard and was made editor and then president of Law Review totally on merit and academic achievement?
I wonāt embarrass you by asking if you think he deserved the Nobel Prize.
sam, you’re right. That would have been a good place for me to use sarcastic quote marks… good thing I elaborated on it.
J.
Yuuuuup.
Neil:
Whew. You were right. It goes on.
Yay, jwest. Keep up that racist bullsh*t. We need you out there defining the GOP.
Neil,
āYuuuuup.ā
That answer would probably help you get laid at Wellesley or Smith, but donāt expect anyone to let you invest their money.
Doug, if he released āproofā two years ago, then whatās being released today?
More proof, dumbass. You morons are so embarrassing to this country that this was necessary, apparently.
More convincing proof. More convincing proof heās withheld (or, at least, not actively released) for two years.
Did you read the correspondence? There were some serious hoops that had to be jumped through to get this document, and it was only possible because he is president. And you think he’s been withholding. Don’t you ever embarrass yourself?
Iām picking on you, Doug, because your āpredictionā came true some time ago. The times Iāve kicked the birthers, a few of them speak up to āeducateā me on the nuances of their argument. Iāve tried to resist it, but a few of their details ā sadly ā have stuck in my head.
Just the details you found useful to attack the president, and you didn’t care a whit if they were true or not.
Only when itās necessary to remind folks that these birthers are nuts.
No, you do it to attack the president, and you don’t care if it’s true or not.
If those are my only two options, I’ll take getting laid.
Wait, I just noticed some striking similarities here. Yes, I’m sure of it. That birth certificate was clearly written by Bill Ayers. I’ll be releasing my full analysis to WND.
Neil,
Never give up hope. It will happen eventually.
mantis, you fail. Ayers was only 15 and not even in his “it’s cool to blow up Americans” phase, let alone his “write commie stuff” phase.
Obviously, the Certififcate of Live Birth was forged by Frank Marshall Davis.
J.
Obviously, the Certififcate of Live Birth was forged by Frank Marshall Davis.
You think you’re being funny, but that’s not too far from some of your “serious” thoughts.
Mantis,
Releasing the birth certificate puts the issue to bed once and for all.
The only way that document could be a fake would be for the CIA to forge it and plant it in the Hawaiian records, and we all know that if a CIA director was ordered to do that, he would resignā¦..
Oh. My. Godā¦
ļ
Here’s a challenge: find a birther (blogger, radio host, congressman, whatever) who, as a result of the release of the document the birthers have been demanding, is now convinced that Obama meets the constitutional requirement to hold his office.
I’m guessing it will be a long search. And I know exactly why.
I call it “subversive funny,” mantis. It’s a wisecrack that’s intended to remind folks of the incredibly unsavory scumbags Obama has associated with his entire life.
If I’d managed to work in his pastor of 20 years Jeremiah Wright and major financial backer/personal financial benefactor Tony Rezko, it would have been even better.
Hmm… “it was forged by Frank Marshall Davis, blessed by Jeremiah Wright, and paid for by Tony Rezko?”
Nah, too cumbersome. But with a little work, maybe…
J.
Well, mantis, you call me a “birther,” and I’m saying it now: I was already convinced he was Constitutionally qualified to be president, and this confirms it.
So, either your little blather here is empty, or you were lying when you called me a “birther.”
Your call, chump.
J.
Mantis even called me a birther, even though I consistently stated that Obama was a natural born U.S. citizen regardless of where he was born, by virtue of his motherās citizenship.
Liberals are too busy projecting their preconceived image of conservatives onto whatever the subject is at the moment, instead of actually comprehending what is being written or said.
Well, mantis, you call me a ābirther,ā
I explained it to you about ten times. You traffic in birther lies, and you even admitted you didn’t care if they were true or not when you did so. That’s why I called you a birther, and I explained it to you then, repeatedly. You can pretend not to understand if you want, but it only makes you look stupid.
So, either your little blather here is empty, or you were lying when you called me a ābirther.ā
How about I amend my request? Please find a full on birther, not some two-faced, mealy-mouthed liar like Jay who just repeated some birther lies while criticizing other birther lies, who is now convinced by this document.
Btw, I took a look at your swamp to see how the jackals are reacting. That place is just dominated by birthers, isn’t it? They’re throwing out fraud charges and amateur document analysis like crazy over there. Quite an interesting audience you Wizbangers attract.
Mantis even called me a birther
Did I? I was really focusing on racist asshole scumbag for you, as it is a bit more descriptive. Now kindly, GFY.
Are liberals still claiming heās not Muslim?
So, like the Birthers who insist that Obama isn’t “enough of a native-born American” to be president, I’m not “enough of a birther” to suit mantis.
Sigh. Both the Birthers and mantis have all these fine details and minutiae and nuance and hair-splitting precision that it’s impossible for those of us not obsessed with the whole matter to keep up with them to their satisfaction.
I am so verklempt over this…
J.
It’s really just a question of knowing how to read and understand English, Jay, which you apparently struggle at. Here’s my original request:
Hereās a challenge: find a birther (blogger, radio host, congressman, whatever) who, as a result of the release of the document the birthers have been demanding, is now convinced that Obama meets the constitutional requirement to hold his office.
Since you claim you were convinced long ago, despite the fact that you constantly trafficked in demonstrably false birther lies, it doesn’t really apply to you, does it?
And yes, I call anyone who spouts demonstrably false birther bullshit a birther. I’m sorry if I can’t see into your soul and know for sure that you don’t believe the birther lies you repeat. That’s really beyond my power. Maybe if you didn’t want to be labeled as such, you shouldn’t have repeated their lies? Think about it.
Mantis,
You seem to be in a particularly foul mood today. This is quite an accomplishment for a liberal, who all seem to be in a perpetual foul mood.
Am I correct in assuming youāre upset that Obama folded like a cheap suitcase within a few weeks of pressure from the rightās most unlikely candidate? Are you shuddering thinking about how heās going to collapse under real pressure? Whatās going to happen now that some in the press are through humping Obamaās leg and are asking actual questions?
Whatever the reason, try to put on a happy face. Itās going to be hard enough attracting voters to Obama, but it will be twice as hard if you keep that sour attitude.
Poor mantis. Now that Obama’s finally driven a stake through the heart of the Birther nonsense, both of them have been deprived of one of their favorite weapons against Obama’s critics.
Well, at least they still have (or think they have) the Race Card ™, but they’re in serious denial on that one. It was maxed out a couple of years ago.
And yeah, mantis, I “admitted” I don’t know all the fine details of the Birther arguments, and which ones have been debunked, which were made up out of whole cloth, and which are technically “unanswered” but still really, really stupid. And guess what? I’m kinda proud that I haven’t gotten as wrapped up in the whole stupid argument as you have.
J.
Please note that in order to obtain this information, Obama had to request a waiver from Hawaiiās Administrative Rules, which was granted in recognition of his status as President of the United States. In other words, getting these documents isnāt something that just anybody can do.
Also worth noting is that, in this particular case, a request could be made on a Friday and the documents involved would be released the following Monday. So it wasn’t that difficult a matter to resolve, as long as the interested party — President Obama — made the slightest effort to do so.
J.
Doug, do you know the difference between a “natural citizen” and and “natural born citizen”? If there is no difference, why the extra word in the constitution? Why is it the only place it is mentioned? The exact reason for the requirement that both birth parents be citizens is well displayed by this President. His animosity toward the Brits due to his grandfather, and his failure to understand American exceptionalism. About the release. That was not so hard now was it? How about some college transcripts? How did a man who self described as a poor student get in to Occidental, Columbia and Harvard?
And yeah, mantis, I āadmittedā I donāt know all the fine details of the Birther arguments, and which ones have been debunked, which were made up out of whole cloth, and which are technically āunansweredā but still really, really stupid. And guess what? Iām kinda proud that I havenāt gotten as wrapped up in the whole stupid argument as you have.
I find it unsurprising that you take pride in the fact that you have repeated demonstrable lies for months, if not years. You’re a right winger. It’s what you guys do.
Mantis is still trying to figure out how Obama was able to get the long form certificate without years of litigation and a complete rewrite of the Hawaiian constitution.
jwest, that’s just the beginning. He’s upset because Obama just took the whole “birther” thing off the table long before the 2012 election. He’s upset because Obama showed that a single letter could get the certificate produced in a single business day. He’s upset because hardly anyone else cares enough about the whole birther mess to know all the details that he does. He’s upset because no one else is as angry and passionate and caring about the whole matter as he is, and, dammit, how else can mantis prove that he’s so anti-racist if the rest of us just won’t play along?
I mean, look at this thread. There’s no one else as serious and furious and worked-up as mantis. No one else even comes close. Most of us are treating the whole matter as the joke it is, but there he is, frantically waving his little fists and screaming “take this seriously, dammit! Take ME seriously, dammit!”
And we just won’t play along.
Poor mantis.
J.
Actually I’m at least as worked up. The whole birther thing, like the truther thing, has been great entertainment that hasn’t cost a dime.
I have hopes though that the routine will now transfer to Obama’s academic past. Its like a great sitcom going into spin-offs.
Jay Tea,
Remember that foul mood I mentioned earlier?
I believe it just got worse.
Heās upset because Obama just took the whole ābirtherā thing off the table long before the 2012 election.
If that were true, I would be quite happy. But again, the birthers will not be satisfied with this. It will never end.
Heās upset because Obama showed that a single letter could get the certificate produced in a single business day.
Upset? Umm, no. Why would I be upset?
Heās upset because hardly anyone else cares enough about the whole birther mess to know all the details that he does.
I know that understanding the arguments of opponents is not actually important to wingnut liars like yourself, who are content to just make up arguments for opponents, and use lies to argue against those strawman. I’m a bit different.
Heās upset because no one else is as angry and passionate and caring about the whole matter as he is, and, dammit, how else can mantis prove that heās so anti-racist if the rest of us just wonāt play along?
I have no desire to prove anything about myself, let alone that I’m “anti-racist.” I’m just a bug who annoys lying scumbags like yourself.
You can wave your hands around and pretend it’s all been a joke to you, but you were serious when you repeated birther lies to attack the president. Can’t walk that back, shitheel.
So, george, it’s like the British show “Til Death Do Us Part?”
Remade as “All In The Family” in the US.
Spun off “Maude,” which spun off “Good Times.”
Spun off “The Jeffersons,” which spun off “Checking In.”
Turned into “Archie Bunker’s Place.”
Spun off “Gloria.”
Revived (sort of) as “704 Hauser.”
Yeah, I can see that…
J.
The stupidity hurts.
Well it certainty separated rational people from those with a weak grip on reality…
Wiley Coyote,
So, you are an example of American Exceptionalism?
damn mantis, the attack gerbils are on you today…
mantis, I used to take you seriously. Now, I take you as seriously as I ever did the whole “birther” stupidity.
But they’re slightly more amusing.
J.
Hey, jwest and Jay Tea:
Get a room. Thanks.
But at least we’re NATURAL-BORN gerbils, anjin…
J.
mantis, I used to take you seriously. Now, I take you as seriously as I ever did the whole ābirtherā stupidity.
So, you take me as seriously as you do your own arguments, which you have admitted include demonstrable lies and that you don’t really care?
I take you about as seriously as I do any random Freeper or RedState diarist. You spew absolute bullshit, that unlike the mentally disturbed like jwest here, you can’t possibly believe. You’re a propagandist in service of the worst impulses and backward notions our country has to offer. And I’m sure you’re proud of yourself for it.
But theyāre slightly more amusing.
They also appear to be a majority of your readership (at least judging from the comments). Wonder why that is….
mantis, stop. You’re making me blush. All that, from little ol’ me?
J.
All what? I’m just describing what you write on your blog.
But in such glowing terms, with so many superlatives, and such passion…
Oh, my. I need a cold shower.
J.
I wonāt embarrass you by asking if you think he deserved the Nobel Prize.
I shouldn’t presume to speak for Neil, but why on earth would he be embarrassed?
Obama won the nobel prize for meritorious performance in the field of Not Being George W. Bush. I say this as a partisan Democrat who thinks Obama has done a pretty good job as President, but I don’t know anyone, starting with Obama himself, who thinks differently.
Hell, even I gotta admit that Obama is a more deserving recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize than Yassir Arafat, UN Peacekeepers, the IAEA, Al Gore, or International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War. In each of those cases, I can spell out just why they should NOT be given such an award; in Obama’s case, I think there weren’t really any compelling arguments in either direction.
J.
Or, if you wanna go the other way politically, Nixon and Kissinger.
Works for me, sfp. I just stopped going back at the 80’s. But I got no problems with tossing them in the mix.
J.
I saw the complete one on the WH website. As compared to other certificates of other Hawaiian births at that time, Obama’s has no visible raised seal at the bottom. The others are easy to see. I do have to say-on the short form he released previously, the raised seal was evident. I can’t believe that the registrar just neglected to apply the seal in this case. Too much of a coincidence. Thoughts, please?
Thoughts, please?
You’re an idiot. Any other questions?
It’s sad that you have no life…
I found the raised seal!
http://www1.ucsc.edu/news_events/press/photos/images/capeseal-Furries.jpg
Doug Mataconis says:
Wednesday, April 27, 2011 at 09:14
I already know the next argument theyāll make (some have made it already). They will say that the President is not a natural-born citizen because both his parents werenāt American citizens at the time of his birth. It is an argument without legal merit but, hey, theyāve spent two years making an argument without any factual support so I doubt they care.
And now, as per his long form BC, they have that factual support.