Why Obama Should Not Have Had To Show His Papers

[AllanahStarrNYC]

Perfectly said.

msnbc.com Video Player

[trish]

Perfectly, insightfully and accurately.

[nonnonnon]

is American a race?

[TJ347]

Obama didn't have to show his papers; he chose to. It won't matter at all, as people convinced he wasn't a citizen to begin with will simply say his papers are fraudulent, but despite knowing that in advance he and his people still thought it worthwhile to show them. That's no one's fault but his.

[trish]

...he and his people still thought it worthwhile to show them. That's no one's fault but his.

Utter nonsense. What determines whether an action is worth taking the political circumstances surrounding the contemplated action. The Tea-Bagging Party, Trump and others are part of those circumstances.

[TJ347]

His birth certificate had already been made available quite some time ago. Anyone who didn't already believe he was a citizen certainly isn't going to become a believer based on this latest presentation of evidence to the contrary. Blame Trump and whoever else, but this man is already president and was under no obligation whatsoever to show his birth certificate. That he did so was his decision, and the only nonsense here is to pretend there were any circumstances forcing his hand.

[trish]

Anyone who didn't already believe he was a citizen certainly isn't going to become a believer based on this latest presentation of evidence to the contrary.

Recent events call this hypothesis into question. Before the disclosure of the "long form" certificate nearly half of republicans either didn't believe or questioned the president's citizenship. Virtually no republican leader would come straight out and deny the birthers. That situation has now changed. Everyone makes decisions based on circumstances. Sure, people are responsible for the decisions they make, but to claim decisions spring willy-nilly out of one's head and are not responses to the world of circumstances is ridiculous.

[Stavros]

Apparently the phrase in the Constitution 'natural-born citizen' is the key, but I didn't realise until reading it one of today's papers that John McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone to American parents, as there was at one time a doubt about his eligibility to be in the race. The article argued that immigrants often have a more positive attitude to their new country and should not be barred from standing, again its an historical thing that was designed by the govt to prevent people born in the UK from standing, or so I believe. And also, I think that a candidate can have been born on an army base in Korea, Germany or wherever and still be a 'natural-born citizen', although again, an historical quirk suggests someone who is not 'natural-born' was conceived in a test-tube...??? How else is anyone born?

[trish]

MACBETH

Thou losest labour:
As easy mayst thou the intrenchant air
With thy keen sword impress as make me bleed:
Let fall thy blade on vulnerable crests;
I bear a charmed life, which must not yield,
To one of woman born.

MACDUFF

Despair thy charm;
And let the angel whom thou still hast served
Tell thee, Macduff was from his mother's womb
Untimely ripp'd.

MACBETH Accursed be that tongue that tells me so,
For it hath cow'd my better part of man!
And be these juggling fiends no more believed,
That palter with us in a double sense;
That keep the word of promise to our ear,
And break it to our hope. I'll not fight with thee.

[hippifried]

John McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone to American parents

Not just American parents. Parents who were out of the US proper because they were in service to the Country. Also, at that time, the Canal Zone was under perpetual lease & considered US territory. Territory works. It was cleared by the Supreme Court in '64, because Barry Goldwater was born in the Arizona Territory befor it was a State. McCain asked for & got a SCOTUS ruling in 2000. Birthplace is the biggest factor.