Liberals Explain Why Obama Took So Long To Release The Birth Certificate

by John Hawkins | April 28, 2011 4:21 am

Had Barack Obama actually wanted to nip birtherism in the bud, he could have released his long version birth certificate back in 2008. That would have certainly done it back then, when the conspiracy hadn’t really gained traction. What I’ve been saying is that Obama liked having Republicans talking about whether he was born in America. It made the GOP look bad to Independents, it got Republicans sniping at each other, and moreover, it kept Republicans wasting their time on a dry hole instead of hammering Barack Obama on his horrible performance as President. In other words, nobody was benefiting more from the birther issue than Barack Obama. Ironically, Trump managed to draw SO MUCH attention to the issue that birtherism started gaining more steam with independents and it scared Obama into finally releasing the long-form birth certificate.

Intriguingly enough, a couple of prominent liberals have been willing to publicly admit what many of them think: That yes, despite the feigned anger, Barack Obama actually wanted birtherism to live on for as long as possible.

First off, here’s Andrew Sullivan[1].

So he had the power to get this into the public eye and yet resisted until the country’s polity was almost paralyzed with distraction. I know this was an ethically legitimate position after releasing the short-form document proving that he was indeed born in the US. I know it was politically savvy because, by the rules of jujitsu, Obama allowed the nutty right (is there any other variety with influence now?) to make fools of themselves.

Nonetheless, I think this should have been done long ago.

Now, here’s Tommy Christopher[2].

How stupid was it to release President Obama’s long-form birth certificate? Let me count the ways. As Dan Pfeiffer said, the Birther issue was “good politics and good TV,” but I strongly disagree that it was “bad for the American people,” especially from Barack Obama’s point of view. His decision to cash in the Birther chips is an awful decision for them, unless he believes the country would be better off without him as president in 2013, .

As a writer for a media criticism website, the apparent death of the Birther story as a mainstream news meme is beyond tragic. Covering the media’s coverage of Donald Trump’s Birther and Bailey Circus has been like shooting arthritic fish in a barrel with a shotgun.

With any luck, Trump will stick around the Teevee, and the top of Republican primary polls, with a steady regurgitation of other chain emails, crazy talk, and just plain dickishness, but this definite’y puts a crimp in The Donald’s media mojo.

The American people have been well-served by this Birther story, for precisely the reasons President Obama gave to end it. While it did give rise to an absurdly popular Donald Trump candidacy, it also revealed to Americans the unserious nature of an absurdly large number of Republicans. This issue promised to be a crucible against which GOP candidates (as they eventually declared) could be judged sane or not.

Obviously, this also illustrates the huge political advantage that President Obama has given away. The Birther issue is a loser for the GOP in a general election, but hugely influential in a Republican primary. Making every GOP candidate kiss the Birther Blarney Stone would have been an anchor around their necks.

So, there you go, folks. Keep all this in mind when you hear the fake indignation of liberals about this issue. The truth is that liberals thought the birther idea was silly, but the only thing they’re really upset about is that Obama releasing the long-form birth certificate has killed it as an issue.