Obama to Betty White: Let's See Your Birth Certificate

Percentage who believe Obama is foreign-born falls by half

(NEWSER) - A year ago, 20% of Americans thought the president was foreign-born; now, it’s half that, a Washington Post poll finds. Surveyed after President Obama released his “long-form” birth certificate , just 10% of Americans now believe he was likely born outside the US. What's more, 70% say he’s a Hawaii native, compared to 48% in an April 2010 Post-ABC poll. Overall, 86% say he was born in the US or call that their “best guess," the Post notes. More»

President doesn't shy away from would-be birther candidate

(NEWSER) - Don't go to Vegas with Donald Trump these days: The would-be presidential candidate was betting last night that "I wouldn't think [Obama] would address me" in his speech at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. No such luck, reports Politico:

• Trump's "taken some flak lately but no one is prouder to put this birth certificate matter to rest than The Donald," said Obama. "And that's because he can finally get back to focusing on the issues that matter, like, 'Did we fake the moon landing?' 'What really happened in Roswell?' And 'Where are Biggie and Tupac?'"
• Obama moved on to other rivals, including Michele Bachmann, who's "thinking about running for president, which is weird because I hear she was born in Canada. Yes, Michele, this is how it starts."

And it's all caused by 'puffed up bullfrog' Donald Trump: Independent

(NEWSER) - The British newspaper the Independent for one is shocked, shocked that President Obama finally succumbed to birther mania and released his long-form birth certificate to shut up the fringe ( a strategy already failing ). "Has there ever been a more absurdly surreal moment, even in US politics, that theater of the absurd and the surreal?" wonders writer Robert Cornwell, who attributes the American humiliation to that "puffed up bullfrog" Donald Trump. "No sane person has ever doubted" that Obama was born in the US, he adds. But the birther debate has "moved to the lunatic center of American political debate," he notes. More»

New focus will be on college records: Alex Pareene

(NEWSER) - The White House release of President Obama's birth certificate won't satisfy all the birthers, with charges of the document being a Photoshopped forgery already surfacing, notes Alex Pareene at Salon . Other diehards will accept it but develop new lines of attack, arguing that Obama is disqualified by his father being African or by arcane rules of dual citizenship. But "the new frontier in questioning the president's legitimacy" might involve birthers becoming "schoolers." More»

Nothing to do with Obama, lawmakers insist

(NEWSER) - Ineligible candidates aiming to sneak into the White House won't make it past the New Hampshire primary under a proposal being considered by the state House. The chairman of the state's election law committee, a Republican, says a bill is being considered that would require presidential hopefuls to provide a birth certificate and affidavit swearing they are over 35 years old and have lived in the US for at least 14 years, AP reports. More»