Not the last word on Obama's birth ~ By Joseph Farah

By Joseph Farah Posted: August 03, 2009 1:00 am Eastern © 2009 About one thing you can be certain: Any time someone has the audacity to write a column proclaiming it is the "last word" about a subject, it's sure to prompt rebuttals. On July 30, James Taranto of the Wall Street Journal tried his best to put the final nail in the coffin of the "birther" corpse. But rumors of the death of the Barack Obama eligibility story were, as Mark Twain would say, greatly exaggerated. From his comfortable perch on the south side of Manhattan, Taranto apparently holds the view that so-called "birthers" – a name derisively slapped on all those who believe Obama should simply release his long-form birth certificate for the good of the country and to settle growing doubts about his status as a legal president – are part of a cohesive movement, a monolithic entity, some kind organized conspiracy, if you will. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. "Birthers" are simply people demanding Obama release the only evidence that could possibly provide even a basis for determining whether he was a "natural born citizen" and thus constitutionally eligible to serve in the White House. Taranto simply can't see the forest for the trees – or, worse, refuses to do so in his desire to ridicule "birthers." For instance, he ignores the fact that Hawaiian laws have permitted foreigners to obtain "certifications of live birth," the document Obama has called his birth certificate. Of course, he must ignore that central fact because it is terribly inconvenient if you are attempting the make the case that the document somehow proves Obama is a legitimate president. Hawaii's shockingly poor record-keeping also made it possible for babies to be issued "certifications of live birth" with the wrong parents listed and the wrong date of birth. No hospital or physician would need to be listed. No independent witnesses needed to be involved. All that was required by Hawaii to obtain this document was an affidavit by one person claiming to be a parent. Yet, on that faulty foundation, Taranto is quick to label as lunatics those who dare demand better evidence to meet the critical constitutional test of natural born citizenship. Please tell me how Americans could ever establish Obama's eligibility without a genuine, long-form birth certificate – the product of meticulous, first-hand eyewitness reporting by a certified physician and hospital staff? How would that be possible, knowing how extremely lax and compromised the Hawaiian state health rules were and are today? Taranto is satisfied to accept Hawaii's obvious ineptitude in this area and impose its mistakes on the entire country. He claims the "certification of live birth" is a legal birth certificate and, in fact, "the only kind of birth certificate the state of Hawaii issues." That is simply not true. [CONTINUE READING]