Obama: Fighting the smears--with inadequate proof

From the Obama "fight the smears" site...

SMEAR: Barack Obama's birth certificate

LIE: Barack Obama is hiding his birth certificate

The reason for the accusation is that some believe Obama may have been born in a foreign country, and since his mother was fairly young, would not qualify him as a natural-born US citizen under the law at that time. The trouble is, the only proof Obama's people have offered is a official-looking document, that sort of looks like it may be a birth certificate (because it says in really big letters "Certification of Live Birth". As Larry Johnson points out, birth certificates are usually title "Certificate of Live Birth". (Certificate, not Certification). Mine (from Kansas) does, and my wife's and my four children (all born in Oklahoma) do as well. Additionally every birth certificate we have has the doctor's signature (or someone from the hospital) at least one of the parent's signature and the state registrar's signature. The document Obama is presenting has none of that. There's no signature at all. Also on the birth certificates I have, there's an official seal. There is none on the document Obama has presented.

I can understand that maybe Hawaii titles theirs different, but no signatures and no seal? Personally, I thought the rumor was a bit silly, until I realized that Obama was presenting what appears to be a fake birth certificate as "proof" that he was born in Hawaii. That alone makes me suspicious.

Larry points out these other discrepancies...

1. No attending physician signature or license number
2. No address for the attending physician or hospital
4. No parent DOB or age of parent or parent place of birth.
5. Father’s race would not be “African”, that is country of origin. Race would be black or Negro (1960’s)
6. Was this a single birth or multiple birth.

Now, sometimes a state will send an unofficial document with the basic, pertinent details rather than a birth certificate, if the request isn't specific enough, but it's unofficial, and easily forged, so if this is what's happened, it's inconclusive as to where Obama was actually born.

So the two "smears" they list "Obama is hiding his birth certificate" and "Obama is not a natural born citizen" are still left unanswered. Actually, I have yet to hear anyone actually claim the second, they simply bring up the possibility and note the absence of a valid birth certificate as suggestive evidence that there may be credence to the idea.

All of which could end immediately once a valid birth certificate is produced. Which begs the question, Why hasn't that happened?

Posted by Danny Carlton at June 19, 2008 9:32 AM