One of the biggest things that has happened in the last couple of days is that Barack Obama finally released his long-form birth certificate. As far as I'm concerned, it's pretty much irrelevant -- and became so on January 20th of 2008 -- because whether or not Barack Obama truly is a natural born American citizen (as the Constitution requires) isn't nearly as important as his policies and what he has done as President. Seriously, think about it - what if we find 100% ironclad proof that he was born in Kenya. So what? Just because everything he's done instantly becomes legally invalid doesn't change reality. The fact that we have Obamacare, unemployment near 10%, new trillions of dollars of national debt, government ownership of huge swaths of private insurance/car companies and banks, skyrocketing gas prices, troops in three wars, and absolutely no leadership credibility on any issue of foreign policy...none of that changes one bit, so to me it's an irrelevant question.
But...some people have really gotten fixated on it, and it's remained a political hot button issue. In recent weeks, Donald Trump grabbed the issue and pounded it to pieces. Amazingly, he got results, and for the first time in almost three years Obama has released his birth certificate. It will be interesting to see if there is any professional analysis done on it to thoroughly test its validity. After all, one might reasonably ask why it took them three years to release it. One equally reasonable answer is that, well, it takes time to create a really good forgery. ;)
Anyway, after forcing the issue with the birth certificate, the Donald is now calling for Obama to release his college records. This, too, was quite the controversy, for a couple of reasons. First, Obama's papers, thesis, and other records would undoubtedly prove very enlightening on his philosophy and motivations. Again, this would have been incredibly useful before the election. At this point, we have more than enough real world evidence of Obama's philosophy and motivation, and at this point we really don't need this documentation. The other reason people want this information is that Obama's transcripts and financial records from college might show one very interesting fact: whether or not Barack Obama enrolled and/or sought financial aid as an American citizen or a foreign national.
Again, to me, this is irrelevant now. But hey, go for it, Mr. Trump. If nothing else, it'll be very interesting to watch the fireworks.
The White House is saying it's not going to happen, but the predictably reliable liberals in the media are now attacking Trump, already calling him a racist.
All this is mildly amusing and interesting, but I do think there are a couple extremely relevant things that we can learn here. First, look at a recent Rasmussen poll of what GOP voters think of potential GOP candidates:
Republican primary voters at this early stage of the game now give billionaire developer Donald Trump the edge over presumptive favorites Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee in the race to be the GOP’s presidential nominee in 2012.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely Republican Primary Voters finds Trump with 19% support, just ahead of the former governors, Massachusetts’ Romney at 17% and Arkansas’ Huckabee with 15%.
Does that send a shiver down your spine, too? Donald Trump is leading the GOP pack of candidates?? WHAT?! Since when is this guy a Republican, much less a fiscal conservative? The guy declares bankruptcy with his companies as a strategic move whenever he feels it's necessary, and he utilizes every possible loophole and economic foible he can find to make himself more profitable. I read somewhere (unfortunately, I didn't get the link) this week that his history of campaign donations shows vastly more support for Dems than Reps. Good thing this is a way-too-early measure of GOP support, because if this guy ends up being the GOP nominee, we're finished.
But...
We must ask ourselves why Trump is doing so well, right? Sure, he's got huge name recognition, both from his real estate ventures, and from The Apprentice. But I think there's a greater reason: Trump is fighting. He's scolding the media for carrying Obama's water all the time. He's calling a spade a spade, and challenging Obama to prove his claims. He's talking boldly and saying plainly what needs to be said.
Pretty damned refreshing, huh?
Sarah Palin is the only other person who appears willing to do these things, but she's the Left's favorite target and has been for years now, and they can at last partly mitigate what she says through sheer volume of bad press. Trump, however, was one of them until he burst onto the scene with this birth certificate stuff. He's caught them off guard, and is now going to become a target much like Palin.
But the greater issue is that he's fighting. Hey, GOP...are you getting this? Americans are gravely concerned about the direction of this country and the people leading it right now, and they want elected representatives who share that level of concern and are willing to go to the mat for it. Most of you are severely lacking when it comes to fighting on the behalf of the American people, and if that doesn't get fixed fast, this country will never get back on track.
I believe that while Donald Trump would be a horrendously irresponsible choice of nominee for the Republican party, what he's doing right now is exactly what is needed, and should be both heeded and replicated wherever possible.
Just my humble opinion.
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