Posted by
Alexander Koby on Wednesday, August 27, 2008 10:05:53 PM
Perhaps you ran across this story tucked away in the depths of a local newspaper or streamed across your daily news feed. At any rate, I felt compelled to address this issue.
There has been a buzz recently concerning the authenticity of Sen. Barack Obama's and Sen. John McCain's birth certificates. As you know, being a "natural-born citizen" is a prerequisite to taking the oath of the presidency.
With a little digging, it became clear that even though McCain was born in Panama, it was to naturally-born American parents and occurred within the borders of a U.S. [military] controlled zone of the canal -- qualifying as "American soil." Okay, acceptable.
However, the legitimacy of Obama's birth record remains cloudy. There have been rumors that the document has been forged, in addition to there being evidence of multiple copies denoting his birth taking place at two different Hawaiian hospitals.
Doing my own "e-search," it is difficult to find a credible source that does not blatantly inject its own "spin" to the story. Two lines into an article, spotting keywords within the subtext such as "liberal media conspiracy" and "lunacy from the Christian right," it becomes painstakingly apparent which direction the author has taken. Other unreliable bloggers side-step their premise entirely and trail off into their own sporadically rambling tangents -- thus proving only one theory: that they fail to grasp a keen understanding toward the mechanics of the English language.
Nevertheless, the Insider released a report stating that, "His presumed Kenyan-born father was foreign-born, and his mother was too young at the time of birth to confer natural born status by virtue of her American citizenship. Thus his citizenship comes down to proving he was born in the USA, and his campaign has staked its credibility on the authenticity of the Daily Kos-derived birth certificate image."
According to Hawaiian law and unlike most other states, birth certificates are not public record and are only available upon request to family members. In early June, after numerous requests, the Obama campaign finally released a copy of the certificate; immediately sparking controversy. Various fact finders and news outlets have professed their findings with numerous revisions. Claiming that the document is the work of a would-be "Photoshopper," or a legitimate product of a Kinko's quick-copy.
In this day and age, with toasters & YouTube, and with personal views & grievances aside, can we please locate definitive, unwavering, paperwork and testimony that we can all agree on beyond a shadow of a doubt? Must we be subjected to hear-say from a friend of a friend, shoddy mimeographs and lack of official seals? All of which so obviously begs for speculation.
In related news, Philip Berg, a Philadelphia attorney and Hillary Clinton supporter, has filed suit against Barack Obama, the Democratic National Committee and the Federal Election Commission. The action seeks an injunction preventing the senator from continuing his candidacy and a court order enjoining the DNC from nominating him, all on grounds that Sen. Obama is constitutionally ineligible to run for and hold the office of President of the United States.
Will all of this go anywhere? Perhaps, perhaps not.
I am neither a certified forgery expert nor do I have vast experience with comparative analysis. I can however, as can you, formulate my own conclusions based on the information at hand while factoring in the interpretations of others. What troubles me more than the authenticity of a birth certificate, is the notion that too many Americans are willing to shrug-off requirements such as natural-born citizenship; saying, "Well, does it really matter?" The further we move away from the original framework of the constitution, adding our own insights and amendments, the more dangerous and opinionated our interpretations become.
This leaves me wondering: Will we ever "honestly" play by the rules, or continue to make them up as we go along -- each adding our own "spin."
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(a.k. 06.26.08)