April 27, 2011

President Obama has released his long-form birth certificate. That one who pledged to run the most transparent administration in history should wait until now to produce the document is troubling.

Clearly the President and his handlers thought it was politically expedient to perpetuate the rumors that Mr. Obama was not born in the United States — speculation that Mr. Obama could have easily dispelled years ago simply by authorizing the release of his birth certificate.

Today, the President declared sanctimoniously, “”We’re not going to be able to solve our problems if we get distracted by side shows and carnival barkers”. But it is the President himself who allowed the circus act to continue. The President’s inner circle which, despite all evidence to the contrary, still considers themselves to be the smartest guys in the room, calculated that the continued swirl about Mr. Obama’s place of birth would provide a convenient distraction from the policies of an incompetent and overmatched administration, earn the sympathy of independents, and allow the President’s personal PR service (otherwise known as the mainstream media) to paint the President’s detractors as deranged conspiracy-theorists, yahoos and racists.

The President’s failure to release the document and settle, once and for all, the place-of-birth controversy is reflective of the contempt that this administration holds for those who would challenge it. Mr. Obama has shown himself to be shockingly thin-skinned for one holding public office, as evidenced most recently by his testy exchange with a Dallas reporter who dared to cut off the President’s bloviating (“Let me finish my answers the next time we do an interview, all right?”). So, for those who will not give Mr. Obama the adulation with which he has been accustomed — who would question the veracity of the teleprompter-guided words spewing from the President’s mouth — Mr. Obama would not give the courtesy of an answer.

In a rare confessional as to the administration’s thinking, White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer described the debate as “really bad for the Republican Party” and as “good politics” but “bad for the country” (I guess he’s conceding that what’s bad for the Republican party must be bad for the country). So why wait until now to release the document? The answer is Donald Trump. To a media feverishly willing to goad him on, Mr. Trump asked loudly and often why the President had not released his birth certificate. The administration’s refusal to meet what seemed to be a reasonable request made the President seem stubborn, petty, and with something to hide. The clincher was last week’s CBS – New York Times poll to the effect that nearly 25% of respondents now believed that the President was not born in the United States. Finally, the White House acted, putting to rest the question initially raised by the Hilary Clinton campaign, and finally resolving this latest chapter in what has been the Obama Presidency comedy show.

The President said in this morning’s statement announcing the release of the birth certificate: “Normally I would not comment on something like this, because obviously there’s a lot of stuff swirling in the press on any given day and, you know, I’ve got other things to do.” He said that the controversy kept him from attending to more important matters. “We do not have time for this kind of silliness. We got better stuff to do.” The President then hurried off following his statement so he could dedicate his time to his “better stuff to do.” Here is Mr. Obama’s agenda for April 27, 2011, taken verbatim from the official White House web site:

9:45 am
The President delivers a statement
Brady Press Briefing Room
Open Press

10:05 am
The President departs the White House en route Andrews Air Force Base
South Lawn
Open Press
Gather Time 9:45AM– North Doors of the Palm Room

10:20 am
The President departs Andrews Air Force Base en route Chicago, Illinois
Andrews Air Force Base
Travel Pool Coverage
Out-of-Town Travel Pool Coverage (Call Time 9:00AM – Virginia Gate, Andrews Air Force Base)

12:10 pm
The President arrives in Chicago, Illinois
Local Event Time:
11:10 AM CDT
Chicago O’Hare International Airport
Open Press

1:15 pm
The President and the First Lady tape an episode of the Oprah Winfrey Show
Local Event Time:
12:15 PM CDT
Harpo Studios
Pool Spray
Stills Only Pool Spray

5:10 pm
The President arrives in New York, New York
John F. Kennedy International Airport
Open Press

6:00 pm
The President delivers remarks at a DNC event
Private Residence
Print Pool

9:25 pm
The President delivers remarks at a DNC event
Waldorf Astoria
Travel Pool Coverage

10:15 pm
The President delivers remarks at a DNC event
The Town Hall
Pooled TV, Open to Correspondents

11:30 pm
The President departs New York, New York
John F. Kennedy International Airport
Open Press.

For a President who declared that he “will not rest until every American who is able and ready and willing to work can find a job”, a work day consisting of taking Air Force One to Chicago to appear on Oprah, and then traveling to New York for three Democrat fund raisers, must be “better stuff to do.”

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