Would it even matter if Obama's birth certificate was bogus?

[HistorianDude]

Originally Posted by steven_h

My gripe, about both sides, is the lack of lucidity when it comes to the argument. The uber left doesn't seem to care if Obama is legally able to be the POTUS, one way or the other.

You appear to need more exposure to the "uber left." You mischaracterize them... something that is surprising since any balanced person would give some weight to the differential success between the left and right on this issue.

It is not simply that two sides spend a lot of time yelling at each other. There also have been about 96 court cases on the subject and Birthers have lost every single one... even the ones that weren't dismissed for standing. there comes a point when reasonable people figure out that perfect success on one side and perfect failure on the other is not an accident, coincidence or luck. It is because one side has the law on their side.

Further more, the Obot argument could not be more lucid since it could not be more simple; Obama actually is a natural born US citizen. And we base that simply on the single definition of natural born citizn that has persisted through more than 500 years of Anglo-American common law, to whit:

Anyone born on national soil who is not the child of a foreign diplomat or alien army in hostile occupation is a natural born citizen.

In contrast, the Birther movement has vacillated between no fewer than six different and often mutually exclusive arguments... all with only a single thing in common; they would hopefully reverse the election.

First they claimed he was born in Kenya (or Canada).

Then they claimed that he lost his citizenship when his Indonesian step father allegedly adopted him

Then they claimed that he lost his citizenship when he attended Indonesian schools.

Then they claimed that he lost his citizenship when he allegedly applied for an Indonesian passport.

Then they claimed that natural born citizens required two citizen parents.

Then they claimed that natural born citizens could not be dual citizens.

On this forum, DraggingCanoe has claimed that only Anglo-Saxons can be natural born citizens. But he's special.

If the Obot argument must move far afield, it is only because it must respond to all the different wild and erratic arguments of Birthism.

[MIKEETC]

Originally Posted by steven_h

There seems to be a resurgence of birther threads on CD. I thought having a poll to gauge opinion rather than bantering about it might give some insight. With this said, there are just two simple answers, yes or no.

If it is shown to be fake, then, yes, it would matter.

[what would actually happen is open to speculation]

[ovcatto]

The question properly posed should be;

Would it matter to me if Obama's birth certificate were bogus?

Yes indeed it would matter a great deal. However, the problem is that first a Republican Governor and custodians of records and then one appointed by a Democratic governor have certified that his birth certificate is legitimate.

[Smoke_Jaguar4]

Has Romney disclosed his birth certificate? No.
Has Santorum disclosed his birth certificate? No.
Has Paul disclosed his birth certificate? No.
Has Gingrich disclosed his birth certificate? No.

Have Birthers or anyone else mounted a campaign to have any of the Republican candidates disclose their birth certificates? No.

Did Birthers accept Obama's birth certificate as legitimate even after he's released it twice? No, instead they now start demanding other records such as his college transcripts. No amount of evidence will ever convince them that he is anything other than what they think he his. So what sets Obama apart from any other person that has been President or ran for the office?

Race.