MSNBC's Chris Matthews got into a heated exchange with a congressman on
his show Tuesday as he revisited the question of President
Barack Obama's birth certificate — or lack of one.
Rep. John Campbell, R-Calif., is a co-sponsor of the
so-called "birther bill," which would require future
presidential candidates to provide a copy of their original
birth certificates.
“Birthers” are those who believe Obama is not qualified
to be president, based on a belief that he was not born in
the United States.
Campbell is not a “birther” and never has claimed that
Obama was born outside the United States or should be
disqualified from being president.
On the show, Matthews seemingly undermined claims by some
that Obama never has released his birth certificate,
producing what Matthews said was a true copy of it.
But Matthews made a false claim. Obama never has released
his actual birth certificate. He has released another
document, which state authorities often provide in lieu of a
birth certificate, called a certification of live birth.
Matthews on Tuesday said Campbell was "playing to the
crazies" by supporting the "crazy" bill, and the congressman
shot back that it was all about "putting the matter to
rest."
Matthews also accused Campbell of "feeding the wacko wing
of your party," and held up what he called a copy of the
supposed Obama birth certificate.
Case closed?
The indisputable fact is that Obama has not released his
birth certificate, which the state of Hawaii issues for all
citizens born there.
Instead, his campaign has released only his certification
of live birth from the state of Hawaii, which is a document
that offers a summarized version of the birth certificate.
During the 2008 presidential campaign, GOP nominee Sen.
John McCain quickly released his birth certificate when
liberal bloggers raised questions about his eligibility to
be president. McCain was born at a military hospital in
Panama.
Obama likewise could put the matter to rest by releasing
his actual birth certificate, which would show, among other
things, the place of his birth and the doctor who performed
the birth procedure. This information is not provided on the
certification of live birth.
As it stands, Obama is the only president in history
whose birthplace is unknown to the public – a fact that
would be stated on the actual birth certificate.
Interestingly, his family has mentioned two different
hospitals in Hawaii as the place of birth.
The fact that Obama has refused to release his actual
birth certificate does not mean conspiracy theorists are
right when they claim he was born in Kenya and therefore not
eligible to be president. Investigators who have reviewed
the claims have found no evidence Obama was born outside of
Hawaii.
But Obama’s refusal to release his birth certificate does
mean that Obama remains one of America’s most mysterious and
opaque presidents ever.
Obama, for example, has not released many other documents
regarding his public and private life.
Many of these documents were sought by reporters, who
easily acquiesced when Obama said he would not release them
– though most presidential candidates release them as a
perfunctory matter.
Among the key documents that Obama continues to shield
from the public:
Obama released just one brief document detailing his
personal health. McCain, on the other hand, released what he
said was his complete medical file, totaling more than 1,500
pages.
Obama refused to offer his official papers as a state
legislator in Illinois. Nor did he produce correspondence,
such as his schedules of appointments or letters from
lobbyists, from his days in the Illinois state Senate.
Obama did not release his client list as an attorney or
his billing records. He maintained that he performed only a
few hours of legal work for a nonprofit organization with
ties to Tony Rezko, the Chicago businessman convicted of
fraud in June 2008 but did not release billing records that
would prove this assertion.
Obama ignored requests for his records from Occidental
College, where he studied for two years before transferring
to Columbia University.
Obama’s campaign refused to give Columbia, where he
earned an undergraduate degree in political science,
permission to release his transcripts. Former President
George W. Bush and presidential contenders Al Gore and John
Kerry all released their college transcripts.
Obama did not agree to the release of his application to
the Illinois State Bar, which would have cleared up
intermittent allegations that his application may have been
inaccurate.
Obama did not release records from his time at Harvard
Law School.
During the presidential campaign, McCain’s campaign
released a full list of all online donors. Obama’s campaign
still has not released the names of those who donated at
least one-third of the $750 million he raised.
Ironically, Obama accused the Bush White House of being
"one of the most secretive administrations in our history,"
and chided then-Sen. Hillary Clinton for not releasing her
White House schedules.
Chris Matthews, get your facts straight and demand full
disclosure — that’s the best way to keep an honest
government.
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