Lets me be clear up front, I think Obama *IS* a citizen and meets the constitutional requirements, I'm pretty confident of that actually since I have a hard time buying the conspiracy angle.
With that said I've followed this for a few months now (as I followed just about every story during the campaign) and there are some things that don't add up. The factcheck pictures of the short form birth certificate have EXIF data embedded in them showing that they were taken in mid March (or at least it did back in late August when I personally checked it, not sure what it says now). The problem being is that the article was posted on Aug 21st and they clearly claim in the FC article that they were only "recently" (as of Aug 21st) given access to the certificate for pictures...I have a hard time believing "recently" qualifies as more than 5 months ago so I have some -doubts- about the veracity of both the pictures and the FC article (and honestly FC in general, but that's a much longer story).
Some folks have posited that FC simply had never properly set the date on the camera and I found that to be a highly probable reason for the discrepancy. And I held that view for about a month while folks complained about the issue but FC never updated,modified, or clarified that question (but they did update to clarify other questions) and that ultimately made me doubt their pictures again because it's something easy for them to quickly mention in a blurb if it were true and they could be shown to be lying if it wasn't (thanks to EXIF data from other photos posted). Their reluctance to correct the record is not a slam-dunk but again it is enough to throw their article and the pictures into doubt for me, but given the ease with which the matter could be cleared up by a long-form copy being provided, ....well I'll say I just don't see a reason to rely on photos of the short form presented under questionable circumstances when an authority is readily available if the person it benefits most would allow it.
There is a ton of other info in this case but the long and skinny of it is this. The Obama camp points out that what they have provided is sufficient to get a passport and from what I can tell this is true. The problem is he is applying for something much more important than a passport so that benchmark doesn't fly with me. Any doubt regarding his eligibility that is not *completely* unreasonable should be addressed (and even unreasonable questions that can be easily quashed should be addressed as well) and frankly Obama's 9 months of refusing to provide a document that would be of little effort for him to provide has made this a very reasonable request (ie "what are you afraid of?"). It's too easy for him to quash this for there not to be some reason for him not to, that's not a conspiracy that's just common sense (conspiracy is assuming it means he isn't a citizen).
At the same time you have to be a special kind of paranoid and truly blinded by partisanship to truly put any stock into the conspiracy idea when the evidence put forth is so completely unreliable. In short ***both sides are far too willing to accept suspect information when it suits them***. I have serious doubts about almost every piece of information in this case, which makes the one true authority that much more appealing a prospect and that much more of a requirement to reach any final conclusion in my view.
My current view on this situation is that Obama being a smart politician must have a reason for not wanting to disclose the long form certificate (otherwise he would have killed the issue just to remove any possible distraction, and make no mistake it has distracted), but the odds of him not being a citizen after numerous trips to Kenya and other countries by conservative operatives and none of them being able to turn up any proof makes for a dubious case (to say the least) and ultimately I'm not a fan of conspiracies anyways.
So, the conclusion I keep reaching is that there is some piece of information on the certificate that Obama would find politically embarrassing. It's probably something of moderate to major importance given the fuss that has been made over this, and despite some who want to believe otherwise it has been a big fuss. I've had five completely politically disinterested friends bring it up (some appalled by it some suckered by it), and they each had a different version of the story (a true sign of tabloid level news). An anecdote to be sure, but if I could convey the distinct and discrete nature of these friends and the unprecedented level of political apathy that at least 3 of them have I think I would only just begin to describe how bizarre it was from these people to bring it up (I actually initially looked into it because of the first person who pointed it out to me in early August).
In the end *this is a trash new piece*, but the fact is that there is a constitutional obligation at the heart of it and I think citizens must expect and demand openness and honesty in such matters. My solution is simple and should satisfy everyone: Obama should release the long form certificate and any sensitive information that might embarrass him can be redacted. The goal should be to put the constitutional question to rest without unjustly dragging someone's name through the mud.
Hard-line conservatives won't like that but as best I can tell it is the most reasonable solution to the sordid affair. To be honest my first inclination in such a case was to ignore it completely but I want to point out again the constitutional requirement here makes this a different beast and forces us to take it seriously if for no other reason than out of deference to the constitution itself, and to shame those who have paraded the issue in a ridiculous fashion.
That's my opinion anyways, I'll leave you guys to the debate however, because I think it is foolish to think anything will come of the issue. I've added my 2 cents, take it for what you will.
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