In a brief statement, the White House released President Obama's long form birth certificate today saying that it was time to put the issue to rest because it was a side show that was distracting from the real issues, like the budget.

Donald Trump went from being chief Birther to being quoted saying he made all those statements to "help put the issue to rest" and that he was "happy to be a part of it." There is no word on if he will release his Tax Returns as promised in his challenge to the President. Somehow, I doubt he will. In similar vein, a Republican Congressman was quoted complaining that Obama was playing politics in releasing the document... I cannot remember if this particular man was part of the Birther movement or not, however it does seem rather strange to me that a non-Birther would complain that the President shut down the side-show to get attention back on the real matters. Then again, I can see how those in Congress not doing their jobs (on both sides of the isle) might enjoy the media distraction that the controversy brought. But yes, the opposition has been deprived of one of their primary rocks to throw, and they are unhappy.

Honestly, I don't even know where my long form certificate is. My mother lost it somewhere and when you request a copy from the state or hospital they only give you the short form. You have to jump through hoops to get a copy of the long form and as a result Obama ended up sending his lawyer to Honolulu to pick the document up rather than have it mailed, just to ensure that he got it.

This whole Birther movement is nothing more than a joke to me, and it all seems to stem from his last name being Obama and not something like Smith or Jackson or whatever. I am pretty certain that a white guy named Hitler could run for the Presidency with only a short form certificate and no one would question him... but because Obama has an Arabic-sounding last name (and a Muslim father that he got it from) everyone suspects him. Who knew that the first black president would be harassed more for his name than his skin color?

I'm pretty sure it's doctored it doesn't even look real

I completely agree with you. As if where he was born would somehow affect his ability to govern the country in the first place (seeing has he has obviously been an American citizen for a long time, whether or not you believe he was born in the US)... Hounding him for it like this is even more ridiculous. It is racist. Although, like you said, against his name and not his skin colour. People need to pull their heads out of their butts...

icrazyforpokemon : Wow you really just don't want to believe. I have friends that were born in Hawaii and they say their long form looks identical. Does that mean that their forms are also fakes?

Annette : Well, to be President you have to be born on U.S soil as well as a citizen, but yeah this whole thing is just stupid. He was born in Hawaii, they have shown proof, no one would question it if he were anyone else, so why keep it up? Racism, pure and simple.

I mean, if you want to get technical, people could have raised more of a stink on McCain's birth certificate since he was born on a base in Panama... but they didn't, because he was a white guy with a Scottish last name.

Yeah this is pretty ridiculous, all this effort and time spent on this could've been put to better use...

I guess all presidential candidates should start looking for theirs now so we don't have to wait 2 years next time

I agree that the issue did get out of hand. I have no problem with people wanting proof that Obama does fit the requirements that the US president needs to have. However, I wonder if anyone will ever be put through this much trouble if they can't come up with a birth certificate.

I doubt it. I think this also shows just how insanely slow bureaucracy is with getting documents, two years is probably a rush job.

Wow, this whole thing about the birth certificate was stupid, I'm glad it's over. Really, it was a waste of time, especially considering the US is reaching their debt ceiling and the whole government is at unrest. It's great that Obama uploaded it; not that I was concerned about it or anything. Now that this is over, we can focus on... other things.

I'm very happy the whole thing is over. I remember going to the supermarket like half a year ago, and seeing this on a tabloid. I instantanously thought it was fake. Looks like it took some people half a year.

Ah, I apparently have a correction to make.

Generally, if you lose your long form, you cannot get another copy. Obama had to write to the Hawaii Secretary of Health to ask for an exception to the law so that he could obtain a copy of his original birth records.

So, since my mother lost my long form years ago I suppose this means that I will never be able to run for President? Darn.

Yeah, just found out about this a few hours ago.

This is great No more bull about whether he really is a citizen

well, it's obviously a fake.... they've spent the last 2 years making it look as authentic as possible Oh wait, I'm probably not the first person to think that up. I wonder how long it will be before that angle is attempted.

geeogree : Oh they already started that. In fact it has already been stated here. I swear, you could bring those people back in time to witness it and they would still say it was fake.

yeah, you're never going to win with some people. Instead of debating the policies they attack his citizenship. Like that is actually going to accomplish anything. The idea that the president must be a "natural born citizen" is such an out-dated concept anyway. Nearly every person who lives in the US came from somewhere else and a good portion of population growth is from outside the country. Yet somehow requiring the president to be born in the US is a good thing? Sounds more like it was set-up to prevent someone from England becoming president back in the early 1800's and messing up everything that was fought for in order to gain freedom from England. Just a thought

geeogree : I am pretty sure that is along the lines of what the framers of the Constitution were thinking. As long as you are born an American citizen who the heck cares where exactly you were born. What if the greatest American ever born, the best potential leader we could ever have, came into this world while his/her parents were abroad? I think it is stupid to say that just because you are not born on U.S soil that you can never be president even if you are born an American.

Of course, if it keeps the media from reporting on what is actually going on, then they will pounce on it. It is like pointing behind someone and saying, "hey, look over there!"

Elara : You know the Birther issue was originally raised by Hillary Clinton and the Democrats when Obama was taking control of the Democratic nomination for the election. Republicans and conservatives never even took it as an issue until there was no solid answer to the question. The democrats went ahead and ignored it to back their horse and the birther folks kept after it because there was no answer.

Does this answer it? Yes. I think Obama is American.

But it's an issue worth pursuing because there was no answer. Everyone else has answered about their own citizenship. Now he doesn't want to show school records for high school or college. That's the next step. Just watch.

warmaker : It was never an issue! He provided an official birth certificate from the start. There was an answer! It doesn't matter who started it, it should never have been started at all! To be factual though, it was not Clinton herself that started it but a group of supporters known as PUMA, that did not want to give up the fight after she lost the Primary.

I mean, honestly, do YOU know where your long form certificate is? I don't, my mother lost it, does that mean my citizenship should be put under scrutiny and I have to release all my personal records if I decide to run for office? No, it doesn't.

And honestly who the hell cares about his school records? We have NEVER had to see those before, so why are they doing it now? This is harassment, plain and simple.

Elara : The original paperwork was a certification of live birth which means he was born, though not necessarily with American borders. There is a difference. I also have my long form readily available.

If you run for office where a prerequisite is being a citizen of the United States than you should be able to readily prove your citizenship. The dicussion about the school records is that every single president prior to Obama has submitted them to public scrutiny prior to candidacy. Obama has not done it. He's the first one to refuse release. That doesn't strike you as unusual?

Lastly, you call this harassment? I think people demanding important documents is a part of the political process. I wonder if you thought someone throwing a shoe at Bush was harassment. It's technically assault. Bush got harassed his entire career and no one complained about that. Now that Obama is getting scrutinized, everyone calls it harassment.

Are you going to call every negative thing about Obama harassment simply because he's black? That seems racist to me. He's getting attacked because he's the President, not because he's black.

I haven't really paid attention to Obama's Presidency since he first came into office. Is that a bad thing that I had no idea about this til now?

warmaker : The certification of live birth lists place of birth. It is good enough for getting a passport and many other presidents have used it as proof when they ran. All that aside, his mother was an American citizen so under our own laws he could have been born anywhere in the world and he would have been considered a natural born citizen because all that means is that you were a citizen from birth. So again, how was it ever an issue?!

Releasing school records is not a requirement. In fact the only requirements are that you be a natural born citizen and be age 35 or over. That is it. And since I remember all the big chatter during the elections about the schools he went to in Indonesia I don't really blame him for not giving more fuel to the people taking shots at him. Also, not every president has, that is a more recent thing.

Bush getting hit with a shoe was harassment, it was assault, and it was an overall stupid thing to do. I personally still found it funny because it was a guy getting hit with a shoe, but that is neither here nor there.

No, I am not going to call every single thing about Obama harassment because he is black. I haven't made a history of it either if you have ever bothered to pay attention to posts I have made in the last four years. Presidents get attacked by the opposite party, the new trend is to call whoever is in office Hitler (starting with Bush).

And, if you bothered to actually read my first post, you would have seen that I said this has nothing to do with his being black and everything to do with him having an Arabic-sounding last name. Also, you know, a middle name of Hussein. Two minutes of research tell you the origin of both names, but they sound strange and foreign and the country doesn't like strange and foreign so they attack it. If his last name had been Jones, I bet you anything that he would not be harassed like this.

So if you are going to sit there and make assumptions and accusations about me, have the decency to actually read what I wrote before you start so you have half a clue what you are talking about.