Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Obama: I Was Born in Hawaii, Don't 'Have Horns'

President thinks birthers will end up hurting GOP

By John Johnson,  Newser Staff

Posted Apr 14, 2011 6:59 PM CDT

(Newser) – President Obama doesn't generally address the birther movement, but he took a rare shot at it today in an interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC. Upshot: The whole issue is ridiculous, and because most Americans realize that, it's going to backfire on Republicans in the long run. Asked about it in regard to Donald Trump's rise in the polls, he expounded:

“I think that over the last two and a half years there's been an effort to go at me in a way that is politically expedient in the short-term for Republicans," said Obama. "But [it] creates, I think a problem for them when they want to actually run in a general election where most people feel pretty confident the president was born where he says he was, in Hawaii. He doesn't have horns. We may disagree with him on some issues ... but we're not really worrying about conspiracy theories or birth certificates.” (Video from Mediaite in the gallery.)

President Obama speaks at George Washington University Wednesday.
President Obama speaks at George Washington University Wednesday.   (Getty Images)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
President Obama doesn't sound all that worried about birthers.   (Mediaite)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next »
My TakeCLICK BELOW TO VOTE
8%
1%
2%
72%
3%
14%
To report an error on this story, notify our editors.
COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 203 comments
Visigoth
Apr 16, 2011 9:49 AM CDT
United States Supreme Court Associate Justice Hugo Black, in a concurring opinion in Duncan v. Louisiana, 391 U.S. 145 (1968), emphasizes his reliance upon the statements made by Representative Bingham and Senator Howard in Congress which pertain to the drafting and adoption of the 14th Amendment. Justice Black stated that “it is far wiser to rely on” the words of Bingham and Howard when analyzing the 14th Amendment. This is crucial to understanding that Obama is not eligible to be President as it provides the strongest Supreme Court statement – post Wong Kim Ark – indicating that the current occupant of the White House is not in legal possession of the office of President. Here is the relevant statement by Justice Black: “Professor Fairman’s “history” relies very heavily on what was not said in the state legislatures that passed on the Fourteenth Amendment. Instead of relying on this kind of negative pregnant, my legislative experience has convinced me that it is far wiser to rely on what was said, and, most importantly, said by the men who actually sponsored the Amendment in the Congress. I know from my years in the United States Senate that it is to men like Congressman Bingham, who steered the Amendment through the House, and Senator Howard, who introduced it in the Senate, that members of Congress look when they seek the real meaning of what is being offered. And they vote for or against a bill based on what the sponsors of that bill and those who oppose it tell them it means.” (Emphasis added.) A few weeks ago, I published a report entitled, “The House of Representatives Definition of “Natural Born Citizen” = Born of Citizen Parents in the US“. (Please review that report now as I have directly re-posted from it below.) During a debate (see pg. 2791) regarding a certain Dr. Houard, who had been incarcerated in Spain, the issue was raised on the floor of the House of Representatives as to whether the man was a US citizen. Representative Bingham (of Ohio), stated on the floor: “As to the question of citizenship I am willing to resolve all doubts in favor of a citizen of the United States. That Dr. Houard is a natural-born citizen of the United States there is not room for the shadow of a doubt. He was born of naturalized parents within the jurisdiction of the United States, and by the express words of the Constitution, as amended to-day, he is declared to all the world to be a citizen of the United States by birth.” (The term “to-day”, as used by Bingham, means “to date”. Obviously, the Constitution had not been amended on April 25, 1872.) Notice that Bingham declares Houard to be a “natural-born citizen” by citing two factors – born of citizen parents in the US. John Bingham, aka “father of the 14th Amendment”, was an abolitionist congressman from Ohio who prosecuted Lincoln’s assassins. Ten years earlier, he stated on the House floor: “All from other lands, who by the terms of [congressional] laws and a compliance with their provisions become naturalized, are adopted citizens of the United States; all other persons born within the Republic, of parents owing allegiance to no other sovereignty, are natural born citizens. Gentleman can find no exception to this statement touching natural-born citizens except what is said in the Constitution relating to Indians.” (Cong. Globe, 37th, 2nd Sess., 1639 (1862)) Then in 1866, Bingham also stated on the House floor: “Every human being born within the jurisdiction of the United States of parents not owing allegiance to any foreign sovereignty is, in the language of your Constitution itself, a natural born citizen.” (Cong. Globe, 39th, 1st Sess., 1291 (1866)) According to Justice Black, Bingham’s words uttered on the floor of the House are the most reliable source. Bingham made three statements, none of them challenged on the Floor, which indicate that a natural born citizen is a person born on US soil to parents who were US citizens. Obama does not fit that description since, at the time of his birth, his father was a British subject. http://naturalborncitizen.word...
boxcar
Apr 15, 2011 9:16 PM CDT
In Article II, section1 of The Constitution of The United States (from www.archives.gov) it states- "No person except a natural born citizen, OR a citizen of the United States.... shall be eligible to the Office of President, etc..." The KEY OPERATIVE herein is the word " OR " So where's the beef? Obama is either a CITIZEN OR he is NOT a CITIZEN of the United States. Lets set the record straight- the Birthers are going way beyond "natural born" The Birthers are basically saying OBAMA is an ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT, if he can't produce citizenship papers NOR a legal BIRTH CERTIFICATE Instead of IMPEACHMENT for non-natural born citizenship (which don't hold water) they want to DEPORT him, but to where? back to Kenya? his roots? so why don't we DEPORT ALL Europeans back to their European nation of origin too- it'd sure solve a lot of problems in USA, be plenty of jobs for any American Indian descendents (first suggested by my great grandfather, a full blooded Oklahoma Creek Indian)
yoeydude
Apr 15, 2011 3:30 PM CDT
questions about the birth certificate are cleaned up Racial Attacks ,... stripped of the legal language , it sez black aint the color of Presidents ,... so this cant be right ,.. you might as well yell nigah nigah nigah , every time you bring it up ,....... so who are you trying to fool ? yourselves ? cause you aint fool'in anybody else with this obfuscation ,.... fuk off and quit wasting space here , go over to Stormfront where you can commune and trade vomit with the other skinheads and Racists Ignorants
 

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Timelines   |   POPSUGAR Tech   |   Business Insider   |   HuffPost Entertainment   |   NewsOne