It only took 2 years plus, multiple parties filing lawsuits to see it and Barack Obama spending millions to prevent the release, but after the huge stink made by Donald Trump in the news, Barack Obama has finally released his long form Certificate of Live Birth aka COLB. (PDF here)
The issue of where Obama was born should finally be laid to rest. The questions as to what could this document contain that would make Obama fight so hard and spend so much to keep it from being released, should also be muted because after looking at it carefully, everything seems to be in order.
Name- Check
Place of birth- Check
Dates- Check
Signatures- Check
It is no longer a question of "what is on it" or "does it exist", which brings back the only question left.
Why on earth did Barack Obama wait this long and why did he allow the speculation and doubt to reach the point where 25 percent+ of Americans actually doubted his place of birth?
Not that the answer to why really matters in the scheme of things, it is simple curiosity as to whether this COLB was held back as a strategical move that no longer felt as strategic once the issue blew up again or if Obama spent millions to prevent the release out of simple stubbornness.
Donald Trump deserves (and takes!!! see video at the top) credit for being the catalyst that forced Barack Obama to finally take the simple steps necessary to obtain and produce the COLB, is proud of himself for creating enough of a news fallout where Obama felt pressured enough to finally put this issue to rest.
Trump's reaction was expressed as he was speaking in New Hampshire:
"Today I am very proud of myself, because I've accomplished something that nobody else was able to accomplish," Trump said after landing in the Granite State.
Trump expressed some lingering skepticism of the birth certificate's veracity, saying he wants to examine it, but said he expected to be able to move on.
"I hope that it's true so we can get on to much more important matters. So the press can stop asking me questions," he said. "I am really honored to have played such a big role in hopefully getting rid of this issue."
Birthers are going to love Trump for this, even more than they already do, because he manipulated the media into asking about it continuously, got them investigating it and forced Obama to provide something birthers have been demanding from day one.
Reactions are varied and there is an incredible amount of ink being dedicated to the release of Obama's COLB.
PJM says Trump drew "First Blood".
Chicks on the Right asks "was that so hard?"
Atlas Shrugs asks the same thing we and many others are asking "what took so long and why?"
Instapundit thinks Obama waited too long, the damage has been done:
The White House may think it’s sprung a trap, but I think they waited too long. By now — as the polls from earlier this week showing how many independents thought Obama wasn’t born here, and which probably prompted the release decision, indicate — the damage is done. Even if people change their minds on the issue, for many the residual suspicion will remain: The thought that regardless of where he was born, there’s something shady about him.
Best chuckle worthy headline of the day goes to Michael over at Questions and Observations, who declares "Good News! Biden Not The Real President!"
[Update] No worries to those who still want to question the eligibility, WND has that covered.
[Update #2] Jake Tapper from ABC News says Obama's claim that the "dominant news story" two weeks ago was his birth certificate is an "untruth." (Tapper wouldn't dare be saying the President lied would he?)
According to Pew’s Project for Excellence in Journalism, that week the dominant news story was without question the economy.
In fact, it seems the COLB issue was #4 although in Obama's defense, constantly seeing it, hearing about and watching the attention, must have made it seem like it was the dominant news story.
As for which newsmaker received the most coverage, here, too, the president seemed to have a skewed perspective.
Again, Pew’s PEJ: “There was no question that Barack Obama loomed as the key newsmaker last week, mostly due to his nationally televised speech. That marked a change from recent weeks, including several where Obama was not the top newsmaker (Col. Gadaffi was the top newsmaker during the weeks of February 21-27 and February 28-March 6).
“The No. 2 newsmaker last week, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, was a key figure in 2% of stories—the first time he ranked among the top five newsmakers since the week of February 7-13, when Mubarak left power in Egypt. Mubarak was hospitalized after experiencing a heart attack.
“Next was Paul Ryan, at 1% of all stories. Ryan’s budget was passed by the House of Representatives at the end of the week, effectively anointing it as the official negotiation starting point of the GOP for the ongoing debate over federal spending.
“At No. 4 was Donald Trump, whose potential candidacy got a boost from his perseverance in insisting there were troubling questions to be answered about Obama’s citizenship.”
[Update #3] Just because it is quite amusing to rile up the left, Philip Berg and Orly Taitz are questioning immigration records and Obama's social security number. (Via The Politico)
I am going to go pop some more popcorn.
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