Halperin Decries 'Disgusting' Pro-Obama Media Bias in Election Coverage

Why do people keep saying Obama has not released his birth certificate? He did already and it has been verified. Note:

"Allegations raised on the Internet say the birth certificate, showing that Obama was born in Hawaii on Aug. 4, 1961, is a fake.

But state officials in Hawaii say they checked health department records and have determined there's no doubt Obama was born in Hawaii.

The nonpartisan Web site Factcheck.org examined the original document and said it does have a raised seal and the usual evidence of a genuine document.

In addition, Factcheck.org reproduced an announcement of Obama's birth, including his parents' address in Honolulu, that was published in the Honolulu Advertiser on Aug. 13, 1961."

How could factcheck have verified it and the state of Hawaii have verified it, if it was never produced?

Further how would his parents have had the foresight to publish a fake birth announcement when he was born in an Hawaii paper?

I just don't understand why people keep saying he hasn't produced his birth certificate. It simply isn't true.

If Michelle had illegally obtained perscription medications like Cindy I'm sure the media would have pointed it out. If Barack had shamlessly divorced his first wife I'm sure the media would have pointed it out. If Obama had signed an anti-american statement while held prisioner I'm sue the media would have mentioned it. If Obama had finished near the bottom of his college class I'm sure the media would have mentioned it. If, like Palin, Barack had gone to 4 different colleges I'm sure someone would have dug into what he was running from. If Michelle was given almost 200k to buy clothes and then talked ad nausium about it I'm sure it would have been covered. If McCain had run a discplined and coherent campaign I'm sure the coverage would have been different. If Obama had fumbled the economic crisis I'm sure the coverage would have been different.

Actually, the article is, "FAQs About Children Born Abroad to a U.S. Citizen Parent or Grandparent," not "of Grandparent." But I just copied and pasted the title from the Greencardlawyers site, so I'm not sure if search engines pick up both.

Noketch,

It just can’t make sense not to just release the birth certificate if there’s no problem there. That’s really nothing more than common sense, isn’t it? And I certainly don’t think Arnold Schwarzenegger could even think to try to run for President without amending the Constitution first to allow it, but in cases that aren’t black-and-white like that, I do believe it could be possible. A New York Times article discusses McCain’s birth in Panama and how that might have affected him: “McCain’s Canal Zone Birth Prompts Queries About Whether That Rules Him Out.”

On your own situation, you might want to consult with an immigration lawyer or someone with Immigration. It doesn’t exactly seem very simple. The article “FAQs about Children Born Abroad to a U.S. Citizen Parent of Grandparent” discusses different possible situations and circumstances.

If McCain had engaged in the same race-baiting, character-smearing, falsehood-fest that Obama did in the "Dos Caras" ad, we would've heard about it from that day through the end of the election. It's just a bit ironic, given the circumstances, that McCain was the one compared to George Wallace. Of course, the saddest fact isn't that the Obama campaign ran that advertisement -- it's that they ran that advertisement knowing that criticism from the press would be minimal.

No campaign would ever risk running such a racially-charged ad without knowing they were safe from press criticism. Obama knew he enjoyed such safety -- and felt free to run it. Why?

Steve,

Thanks for clarifying what you meant. I still however say that we don't qualify as a Third World Nation by any definition. Picking one characteristic of a Third World Nation and assigning it to us does not make us a Third World Nation, whether or not the one characteristic is true. Anymore than it would be accurate to say that everyone who has a big, red nose is a clown. Now if they had a big red nose, a big curly wig, big floppy shoes and wore a loud costume that looked like pajamas.. well then we might be getting somewhere. :-)

I just hope we don't turn into a Third World Nation. I love this country. It is my home.

Erika,

All other arguments, logical and otherwise aside,do you really think that Obama would have been able to run for President if he were not a natural born American Citizen? In these days NOTHING is private and ANY information can be found.

A massive number of people would have had to have been involved in a conspiracy to pull this off, including as I mentioned before his parents who would have had to have had the foresight to start using a fake birth certificate at birth to make sure no other one existed.

I do have a question though, as I seriously do not know the answer and figure this would be as good a place as any to ask since there seem to be a lot of experts on the matter here. Seriously, not sarcastically.

I am currently pregnant and am a natural born American citizen born in the US and lived here all my life. If I go on vacation to a foreign country and give birth there, will my baby be an American Citizen? Or will I have to go through a process to make her a citizen?

If anyone knows the answer, I'd appreciate it. Thanks!

'Moderate' claim things weren't that bad the last 8 years, and thing just recently went awry. Please, do a little research, before blogging such ridiculous comments.

And for a little less serious look at this issue, see “Is this Obama's real birth certificate?” (WorldNetDaily).

Andrew,

Yes, I know that a person doesn’t necessarily have to be born on American soil to be considered “natural-born.” See this article on the question about McCain: “McCain’s Canal Zone Birth Prompts Queries About Whether That Rules Him Out,” (NY Times).

As for Obama, he’s never released his birth certificate. The few media reports on the subject and the judges involved in lawsuits brought about it have never said that he has, either. Instead, he put a so-called official copy on his web site, gave one to Daily Kos and then later to Factcheck. Then, right before the election, Hawaiian officials vouched for him. But no simple release. Doesn’t all that strike you as a little fishy, just on the face of it? Why release it to just a couple of places if there isn’t some problem? And what possible reason could there be for that? If nothing were different except he had been a Republican, perhaps the problem would stand out more.

As for your other points, research them for yourself and see.

Impunity relates to what I mentioned in that the Obama cammpaign most likely received millions of dollars in illegal campaign contributions due to a conscious decision to remove the anti-fraud security from his donation website. No one will investigate. There will be no consequences, and, therefore, campaign financing laws have become a de facto joke. When a countries laws become a joke, it is on the way to achieving third world status. In the third world countries that I have lived and worked the rule of law is a joke.

Noketch:

I have lived and worked for considerable periods in Third World countries: Egypt, Brazil and Mexico to be specific.

A common trait that each one has is impunity. It creates and perpetuates a culture of threat and corruption that does much to impoverish and maintain poverty.

Impunity is becoming the rule, rather than the exception here, the rest will follow over time.

Erika,
Place of birth is not relevant to the Constitutional Requirements of the office of presidency. Natural Born Citizen has long been misinterpreted to mean one born in the United States. In fact, all it means is that one must be born a citizen. That is to say have American parent(s) or be born in the United States.
Unless you're wanting to challenge the notion that Barack Obama's mother was who he says she was--and maybe you're that brand of crazy--then it is irrefutable that he is a naturally born citizen of the United States of America. He's also over 35. That means he's Constitutionally qualified to be elected president. How long are you guys going to hold onto this silly argument? I mean, John McCain wasn't born in the United States. That doesn't mean he's not naturally born.

I'd like to know why my post on Barack Obama having not released his birth certificate just posted at 1:14:12 p.m. was removed. It contains no offensive language or links, and it was all carefully sourced as I spent a considerable amount of time and energy on it. Here is part of it:

Noketch,

Obama has not released his birth certificate. He has given a so-called official copy to different groups, first to the Daily Kos and then to Factcheck, and they vouched for it, and then right before the election, Hawaiian officials also vouched for his birth certificate, but neither the original vault certificate nor an official copy was ever released.

Philip Berg’s lawsuit was tossed because USDC Judge Richard Barclay Surrick said he lacked standing to bring the suit, and the harm of an ineligible candidate was “too vague and its effects too attenuated to confer standing on any and all voters," (“Obama citizenship question goes to U.S. Supreme Court,” Legalnewsline, “Judge dismisses Obama birth certificate lawsuit,” WorldNetDaily). You would think that judges would acknowledge that “we the people” have every right to demand that candidates meet the Constitutional requirements for office. That statement indicates how little respect there is in the courts for the Constitution and the principles of democracy our country was built on. How can voters not be terribly harmed by a fraudulent candidacy for the nation’s highest office? And if you read the Legalnewsline article, note that it never says that Obama has released his birth certificate and that there’s no controversy here, as it would if that were the case. If he had released it, the media would clearly say that, but they know that he hasn’t. While there’s been little coverage by the liberal establishment media, it’s all done in this way. And in all the lawsuits, I’ve never heard mention that the Court involved itself says that Obama has already released the birth certificate, which would also be logical for it to do.

The Supreme Court is going to discuss one case that’s been brought about the birth certificate, Leo C. Donofrio v. Nina Mitchell Wells, New Jersey Secretary of State, on December 5 (“Docket for 08A407,” U.S. Supreme Court web site). It was “DISTRIBUTED for Conference of December 5, 2008” by Clarence Thomas on November 19.

It also contains some background information on the topic from WorldNetDaily, a news site which liberals trash but I have found over a long period of time to be at the very least as credible as the liberal establishment media, if not far more so. And the piece also says that WorldNetDaily reports that right now it's up to the candidates to vouch for their qualifications, but that has to change with more people with complicated citizenry records likely to run for office.

Why did the MSM do more vetting of Joe-the-Plumber than Obama-the-Presidential-Candidate?

Steve,

Do you actually know what a Third World Nation is?

A Third World Nation is a Nation that is economically undeveloped or under-developed. We don't fit that profile.

We are a nation that is in economic collapse, but I'm not sure how Obama's place of birth relates to that.

I don't follow your logic...

Unbelievable 2008

Are you seriously still asking about the Birth Certificate? He released that long ago. A certified copy from the state of Hawaii where he was born. As for the original, I have no clue where MY original is. It was lost years ago.I've gone through several in fact. But whenever I need to present it, I just write to the state where I was born and request a certified copy. Just like anyone else does.

Is it possible that people actually believe that a Harvard educated lawyer, who has been in the Senate, has been through school in this country,and has been employed in this country, was secretly born in another country and no one noticed? Are you suggesting that his parents knew he would one day run for President so they started using a fake birth certificate for him from birth on? Well if that is not the case, then would there then not be in all of his records growing up another birth certificate giving his "real" place of birth?

He carries a US passport. Do you have a passport? Do you know what you have to go through to get one? Don't you think if he had provided a faked birth certificate, someone would have noticed?

I have heard so much foolish conversation around this that I am about ready to scream. Someone actually said that she could tell that his birth certificate is a fake because it didn't have the little feet on it,like hers did! If he was going to present a fake birth certificate, I doubt if it would be so obviously fake that random people on the internet with no training at all,could detect the fraud.

Bottom line is that if he was able to get through life, work, and serve in the senate and get a passport with a faked birth certificate, I don't have any confidence at all in our screening processes here and feel that I was unnecessarily burdened having to provide certified copies with raised seals to enroll my kids in school and to get our passports and to prove citizenship for my jobs.

And if he actually did run for President with fake information,he would give new meaning to his book, "The Audacity of Hope."

Of all of the nonsense I have heard, this topic is probably the most absurd, because it is so easily proven false. And despite the fact that it has been proven false, people just keep bringing it up.

One of the trademark characteristics of a third world country is impunity. With that in mind let's consider the following:

1. The high probability that Obama's campaign received multi-millions of dollars in illegal campaign contributions. Remember, the anti-fraud measures were taken off of his contribution webpage, and he is the only candidate who has not given complete access to all donation information. Both Hillary Clinton and John McCain provided this information.

2. It is still not proven conclusively that Obama is a "natural born" citizen. Documents that give definitive proof of the place of his birthing have not been provided. He has sealed his records at Columbia and at Harvard. Did he make application as a foreign natural? Why would he not make college records available?

Folks we are on our way to becoming a Third World nation.

Yeah, this is the understatement of the year!

I would like to know why my post at 9:58:35 PM this evening was removed. It discussed the “sex ed for kindergarteners” ad by the McCain campaign. It pointed out that the bill DID change comprehensive sex education from grades 6-12 to K-12, and noted that what was objectionable was that SEX education, even if said to be “age-appropriate” is still sex education, as the bill itself calls it. If it’s not sex ed, then there wouldn’t be a controversy over teaching it, or the option for parents to opt out, and it wouldn’t even be part of this “sex education” bill. It also questions whether or not sexual abuse prevention, one of the main arguments for including such young children, was covered by another section of the Illinois School Code (105 ILCS 5/ School Code), 27-13.2. And it described how liberals are way left of mainstream on sexual issues, and I gave examples of some liberal positions on sexual issues, some actually related to children (Judith Levine’s “Harmful to Minors,” for one) and some not but suggestive anyway of how extreme the liberal perspective is on sexual issues, such as “sex worker” shows at William and Mary and “fetal cookie cutters” that celebrate Roe versus Wade. One of these examples, the headline from a liberal site on Jane Fonda’s offensive remarks she made on TV, referred to an offensive word but wasn’t that word itself, so I can’t fairly see removing my post for that.