What Obama and my wife have in common ~ By Chuck Norris

I agree with most of what Chuck Norris wrote in the following column today, the main point being that those people - like me - just want to be satisfied that the Constitution of the United States is being followed, and that there is no question that Obama is a natural born citizen of the United States. Obama should just allow us to see his LONG-FORM birth certificate and end the controversy so that we can all move on (if possible).

By Chuck Norris Posted: August 03, 2009 1:00 am Eastern © 2009

Dear Mr. President: First, happy birthday. I do hope Aug. 4 is an enjoyable day for you and your family. Coincidentally, I also will be celebrating this week the birth of someone dear to me, my beloved wife, Gena, whose birthday is on Aug. 9. Speaking of birthdays, I couldn't help but hear and read all over the news last week about the fresh attention to your constitutional eligibility and natural born citizen status. I can hardly believe that individuals are now offering bounty – one for $100,000 – for any personal witness or sufficient evidence to your American birth. For nearly two years, this debate continues to grow despite all your administration's attempts to diffuse it. And those who are raising concerns aren't just those on the right, but moderate law-abiding citizens like a retired CIA officer who commissioned an investigator to look into the issue. Still, your press secretary, Robert Gibbs, continues to glibly brush aside the issue by calling it "fictional nonsense." But, in so doing, he devalues the grievance passage of the First Amendment and insults those who are genuinely concerned and inquisitive by categorizing them all as political quacks. He needs to learn that you can't model tolerance for certain minorities while belittling and quarantining those who don't blindly follow your lead. Believe it or not, I'm not writing you to challenge whether you were born in America, though I see nothing wrong with the American public voicing that constitutionally based grievance with someone in your esteemed position. As one blogger wrote, after all, "We aren't talking about a 12-year-old qualifying to play Little League here." Or as Ronald Reagan once said, "Trust but verify." Personally, I must admit that I find it a bit of a groundless stretch not to believe in the birth announcements in two major Hawaiian newspapers in August of 1961, in which the Hawaiian Health Department would have been required to post information they received directly from hospitals: "Mr. and Mrs. Barack H. Obama, 6085 Kalanianaole Hwy., son, Aug. 4." Nevertheless, that proof still doesn't answer why you refuse to reveal your original birth certificate and end the growing tides of controversy. [emphasis mine] I'm writing you because this is no longer a matter merely about proving a presidential prerequisite in the Constitution. Refusing to post a copy of your original birth certificate is an unwise political and leadership decision that is enabling the birther controversy. The nation you are called to lead is experiencing a growing swell of conspirators who are convinced that you are covering up something. So why just prove them wrong and shut them up? [CONTINUE READING]