CNN says 'raised seal' on 2007 Obama birth document makes it whole truth -- well, no

Donald Trump appears to be implying that President Obama wasn't born in the United States, when there's every reason to believe Obama was born in Hawaii in 1961.

I still want to see Obama's original birth certificate, if only out of the historical curiosity to see what's on it. I want to see it for the record, and I want to see it to help understand why Obama spent so much money fighting fellow Democrat Philip Berg's 2008 lawsuit demanding that he show it.

CNN has an interesting story on the birth certificate up right now. It says:

"CNN's Gary Tuchman also interviewed the former director of the Hawaii Department of Health, who said she has seen the original birth certificate in the vault at the Department of Health."

Does original exist? It's odd the CNN story refers to a former director of the Hawaii Department of Heath and doesn't name her. I assume it's Chiyome Fukino, and we'll assume she said she saw it. But just three months ago Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie, a Democrat, went looking for the original birth certificate and wasn't allowed to see it. He had the impression an original certificate might not exist -- Obama's birth information may exist only in notes on ledgers, here and there -- but now CNN is shocked that Trump says it might not exist.

Then CNN takes the usual wild-goose chase in this story. It refers to the document that Hawaii printed out in 2007 as its official "certification" that Obama was born in Hawaii. It's not the original birth certificate, but CNN goes to pains to point out that this 2007 document even has an official "raised seal" on it.

A piece of paper has a raised seal. So what? You can put a raised seal on my college diploma. It doesn't make it my birth certificate. You can put a raised seal on a summary of the U.S. Constitution; it doesn't make that summary the whole Constitution.

Why not release it? Screw Trump and his mischief. But why does no news reporter ask President Obama why he doesn't just let us see the original birth certificate? Why doesn't Obama authorize its release?

I want to see Trump's original birth certificate, too.

Frank Warner

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Update: A Seattle Post-Intelligencer story adds this:

"Hawaii law prevents the long-form record from being photocopied or released to anyone - including Obama. Obama himself would only be permitted to inspect it - not copy it or post it online."

I have never heard that before. In fact, I've read stories that said Obama could authorize release of the original birth certificate. This is a critical point, but the Post-Intelligencer provides no details. If there is such a state law forbidding the release of a person's birth certificate to the public, even if the person authorizes it, it can and should be changed. Gov. Abercrombie can propose the amendment. But is that really the law?

Update: Apparently that law had a big loophole. April 27: President Obama finally releases his original birth certificate.

Comments

[Chez]

And why is it that the president of the US should have to jump through hoops for the nut cases who want to make him justify his identity? The office still means something, and unless there is some iota of evidence that Obama was not born in the US he shouldn't join in that game. The claim is outlandish and what kind of person would allow his actions to be dictated by people who obviously are more interested in discrditing him than in any valid claim of his elegibility for the presidency? Only a weak one. I would be very disappinted if he gave in to that kind of taunt.

[George]

Chez, you demean citizens that merely want to ensure that the Constitution is upheld. Is Obama exempted from the Constitution?

I think it is outlandish that Obama has been allowed to go so long without proving that he is eligible to be president.

Even more, Obama has spent $millions to keep his birth certificate hidden. What's the sense in that? Obama clearly has no idea of the value of a dollar. He spends $millions on trivial nonsense in this instance alone. He has spent $trillions more on his other worthless boondoggles, government takeovers and union paybacks at taxpayer expense while the rest of us are looking for a job.

[Neo]

In other breaking news, here’s the White House link, looks like a 1961 copy of a Certificate of Live Birth.

Looks like what I expected it to. It's either real or a good fake.

[CJW]

It looks as fresh and clean as my birth certificate. Wait a minute! Mine doesn't look anywhere that clear or legible. What is going on here?