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| Barack Obama |
The
White House on Wednesday morning released the president's long form birth
certificate (pdf) in an attempt to put "birther" questions to rest.
"The President believed the distraction over his birth certificate wasn't
good for the country. It may have been good politics and good T.V., but it was
bad for the American people and distracting from the many challenges we face as
a country," White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer said in a
statement. The president had released his certificate of live birth in 2008,
but many "birthers" said the absence of a long form birth certificate
prompted questions about Obama's birthplace of Hawaii. In recent weeks
potential GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump has brought birther questions
into the forefront of the media. "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. "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."
Obama admitted at a White House press conference following the document's
release Wednesday morning that he's been both amused and puzzled by the degree
to which his place of birth has become an issue. The president echoed
Pfeiffer's statements saying that Americans and their representatives need to
come together to solve issues such as how to "invest in our future" while
tackling the federal deficit and federal debt: But we're not going to be able
to do it if we are distracted. We're not going to be able to do it 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. We're not going to be able to
solve our problems if we get distracted by sideshows and carnival barkers.
Though the president didn't mention Trump by name, Obama noted that when he
announced his deficit plan this month, his birth certificate, not our country's
economic future, dominated the news that week. Trump on Wednesday took full
credit for the release. "I feel I've accomplished something really really
important and I'm honored by it," Trump said at a press conference held
during his pre-scheduled visit today to New Hampshire. Trump noted that people
have long been requesting the document, but Trump was the only one who got the
president to release it. Trump suggested Wednesday this development will boost
his own potential presidential candidacy. Trump said he and others are still
going to have to assess the document's authenticity. We're "going to look
at it. We have to see if it's real, if it's proper," Trump said. But he
added that he's "sure it's the right deal" and is looking forward to
moving on to more important issues such as OPEC and China.
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