For those here who are attacking the President for releasing his birth certificate . . .

[EffieBlack]

Please use this as an educational moment to better understand the kinds of crap that black folk and minorities have to deal with every day. Unlike the majority, we have to constantly make these kinds of judgment calls just to get through the day in this America.

Others may snicker and sneer and call us wimps (even some other black folks do it), but unless someone is standing in that particular person's shoes at that particular moment, they are in no position to judge how, when and why they choose to address the "racist double standard." That's just a reality for most, if not all black Americans. We ARE held to a double standard. We have to every day make judgment calls about how to respond. Sometimes we don't respond at all, sometimes we fight back, sometimes we adjust and maneuver and play along.

That's one of the hidden "minority taxes" that we must pay. Most white folks can go through life without having to worry about these choices on a constant basis. Minorities, on the other hand, have to get up every morning and put on this heavy coat.

The President is doing just that. And he made his choice. And whether or not I think I would have done the same thing in the situation (and how could I possibly know what I would actually do since I never have been and never will be in this exact situation), I fully support him because this brother is doing what he has to do to deal with this crap.

Barack Obama is a black man in America. He's doing what he has to do.

I've got his back - as should we all.

[Peacetrain]

1. K&R.. I have his back also..

[snacker]

3. So do I! n/t

[RonboKC]

131. It's more...

It's not just black folks. Howard Dean had an out-of-context scream from his campaign cut and replayed over 12,000 times on TV. It was used as character assassination against his campaign for president. It worked.

Anyone who isn't rich or in the Beltway are easily eliminated by the bought-and-paid-for media. You don't see many poor folks owning broadcast networks or affiliates, now, do you? Anyone who isn't willing to play the rich man's game is eliminated.

[EffieBlack]

145. This situation is very different than Howard Dean's scream

Very, very different.

[bjobotts]

181. I never thought of Obama as a black man but just as a man.Folks constantly point that out

He's half white too and not much darker than Boehner. Black is only a description such as he's tall and slender too. Just letting you all know that there are many of us out here who don't think in those terms. I see a man or a woman first and all the rest is just descriptive so one can tell them apart from another person...period. It carries no prejudicial weight. Nor is it that unusual though many racists make it seem abnormal to perceive in such a manner. Just so you know.

[drm604]

24. Never mind.

Posted in the wrong spot.

[garthranzz]

176. To paraphrase: It's the audience, stupid!

EffieBlack - you've got it absolutely right. I'm an orthodox Jew. I don't have to defend quite the way and FrenchieCat do, but I get it.

What many are missing, I think, is that Obama has, when he chooses to exercise it, a finely tuned sense of audience. The "birther" idiocy reached its peak - Trump was demagoguing as a carnival barker. Obama also needs political capital going into the summer and 2012. He knows he'll never silence the Limbaugh-Taitz fringe. But when Bill are-you-kidding-me Reilly has to smack down the lunatic fringe, you know there's a new audience abrewing.

It's not just the release, it's the way it was done. Obama LECTURED the media. He dismissed the bonker barkers. And he got the attention of the all important independent votes. He changed the frame. "Here, children, you want to fight over a lego? Here's the lego. We adults have work to do."

The media is scurrying away from the birthers, cya-ing themselves. Independent voters will get it - they will identify with Obama's disgust, sympathize with him, and give him more benefit of the doubt.

Needless to say, I too have his back.

And thanks, EffieBlack, for the post!

[SnowCritter]

203. You want to fight over a Lego?

Perfect!

That's the entire topic in a nutshell. Bravo! :applause:

[AllTooEasy]

194. At first I was dissappointed, but now...

I'm proud of him. Now everyone has to focus on the real issues. Many of these birthers are still birthers! That has to hurt the Repukes even more. Independents can't feel good about associating with a party that is still composed mainly of birthers after all this.

[Whisp]

2. thankyou, Effie

the stupidity and the harshness and the uglyness and the plain meanness here is getting harder and harder to bear.

[freshwest]

184. Agreed. He's carrying a huge burden with grace and class.

:hug:

:thumbsup:

[freshwest]

185. dupe

[Lint Head]

4. Here here!

[vaberella]

5. Agreed.n/t

[VWolf]

6. Totally agree

The racist elements in this country made the release of his birth certificate inevitable. That's what angered me the most. Given that, I think Pres. Obama chose this moment based on careful political considerations. And I'm fine with it.


And I still have his back.

[dkf]

7. They were so passionate in defending why he shouldn't do so that they can't reverse themselves now.

Even when it became evident it was the smart thing to do they cannot see it.

[JoePhilly]

32. Its not smart, its distressing that it became necessary.

For the first time, the press now pretends that this was all silly.

MSNBC is only now noting that THIS document carries no legal weight and that the certified copy he displayed LONG AGO, is an official legal document.

I'm glad he found a "smart" way to do this and also punch the press, that idiot Trump, and the idiot birthers, directly in the forehead.

But this should have never been necessary.

[robinlynne]

73. It coudl also be a smart campaign move. to just kick the air out of that stupid argument.

[JoePhilly]

79. I think Obama made good use of it.

And I was dying laughing as Trump claimed victory ... and laughed harder when Obama called him a "Carnival barker" .... and then laughed even harder when I learned that some other right wing nut was about to publish a book called "Where is the Birth Certificate?".

And I am laughing just as hard at the idiot birthers who now scream that "African" should be "Negro" on the birth certificate.

And thrilled that Obama gave the idiot media a SMACK in the process (not that they seem to notice).

But still ... it is sad. I'm a white guy in my 40s and I know exactly why this happened. And its embarrassing.

[MadMaddie]

165. The important lesson is that you and others that are not minorities

know the truth!

I believe the Republicans unveiled their racism for the world and the country to see. There is no doubt about what they stand for.

Many other Americans are really shocked at the blatent racism and they have no tolerance for it. So short term it is ugly and painful for many of us. In the long term America will be the country that you and I want for all Americans.

[kenfrequed]

124. But let them make enough noise first

The noise the birthers make inflates its prominence amongst the GOP idiots and makes them look bad. It may have been a good idea to get them all fired up about such a stupid argument as it detours their rage off into nowhere.

[russspeakeasy]

130. kenfrequed is right.. I.Q.'s over 90 already knew that he was born.

here.

[SharksBreath]

147. He should have waited. Let the GOP pick their guy who would have to

be a birther and then hang this around his neck.

[freshwest]

186. But consider this. While Trump was eating up air time, his message can't get out to the people.

And the word of what the GOP is doing to all the citizens of this country can't wait until 2012.

The GOP is blackmailing Obama by threatening the lives of our citizens and our children's future. It's time to move past this and get on with America's important issues and lay this to rest.

He did the right thing, at the right time. We don't have time to keep wallowing in lies. This is not a game. Lives are at stake.

I'm smart enough to know he's wiser than most people and he should be allowed to move us forward without all these petty attacks.

[boppers]

187. Some people just can't say "I have changed my thinking".

Sad thing, that.

[freshwest]

191. They're ashamed to admit they've been conned. Everyone has been conned at some point in their life.

But they won't admit it even to themselves. I hope that changes.

[boppers]

192. Well, *I've* never been conned.

:evilgrin:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias

[Tom Rinaldo]

8. I Agree. And I'm glad he did it now, after so many racists climbed out on tbat limb.

It's the perfect time to saw it off.

[SharksBreath]

148. Nah. It wasn't the perfect time. They were all just starting to

get on the limb. They were about to cut off the tree of the GOP that was holding them up.

They were just about to takeover the GOP.

I would have let this stew another year and you probably could have cut it off with the GOP presidential nominee on it.

[Daemonaquila]

9. I disagree in one respect.

I'm one of the people who's unhappy with his decision to release his birth certificate. However, saying that those of us who disagree with it are "attacking" him, is just plain wrong. We wish him the best, and want this nonsense to end.

Your points about him paying the "minority tax" are all good. However, I just don't think this was a good way to deal with his problem. It's going to change the flavor of the attacks on his citizenship, not end them, and it will get a lot of press for the racists who want to keep the non-issue in the spotlight. I really think he may have made the equivalent mistake of answering the question "Have you stopped beating your wife yet?"

[EffieBlack]

12. To be clear

I didn't address this to those who simply disagreed with him. I explicitly addressed it to those who are attacking him, as some here have doe - calling him a wimp, etc. If you didn't do that, I wasn't referring to you.

[Cal33]

84. There could be another reason for those people who bring up the

citizenship and other non-issues at every turn: They have no really good argument against real
issues, like keeping up the Bush tax-deductions for the super-rich and making the middle-class
and poor pay for them instead. These guys want to avoid discussing this insanity at all costs,
because they know they will look bad -- even to their own party members.

It's up to the Dems. to bring up these insanities loud, clear and non-stop. But Dems. don't
do that -- to their own detriment. What great opportunities Dems. are wasting! Repubs. are
far more aggressive at bringing up non-issues, and they're getting away with it, most of the time.

[cilla4progress]

10. K&R to the max,, Effie -

I am not black, but have seen what you are discussing. Even as a woman, I can sense what you are talking about, though less so, and it's changing. Always have to put out more, work harder, achieve greater. Racist damn sexist country we live in.

I totally agree with you - it's a high tech lynching of a sort. Fuckers.

Blessings.

[disillusioned73]

11. I haven't seen the apparent attacks you are referring to..

but as a minority - I am with the Prez on this one. There comes a time when you say enough is enough... I was listening to his press conference and I was hoping he would put a harsh line in the sand in regards to this issue. Make it completely clear to our pathetic media that this was it in regards to addressing this issue, and that no one in the administration would even entertain ANY questions regarding it anymore.

I know that is what he meant - it just wasn't vocalized, unless I missed part of the press conference... if that is the case - than oopsy.

[OKNancy]

20. look in LBN

a few take every opportunity to slam this President. Now he is a "caver". It's disgusting.

[Shadowflash]

13. Hmm..

I'll preface this with the fact that I'm not black so I have no perspective on things mentioned here.

I do know, however, that President Obama is the president of the United states and should not have come down from that more distinguished position to address ridiculous claims made by frothing at the mouth, ignorant, moronic pieces of crap such as these.

Just acknowledging these morons diminishes the president and the office. He needs to keep his head held high and let the morons show the world how moronic they are. If not for himself or the office, then for the pride and respect of African Americans. I would think that not having the only black president give in to racist crap and holding his head up would be uplifting for everybody, including the african american population.

Again, I'm white and fairly well off (and may be way wrong on this).

[woolldog]

14. You hit the nail on the head.

Good post.

[Fire1]

16. Yeah. You're WAY off. n/t

[EffieBlack]

21. I understand your point, but black folk - even (or maybe especially) the President - don't have the

luxury or leeway to always refuse to "dignify" racist crap. It is so prevalent, so in our faces, so distracting, that sometimes we DO have to dignify it. It's wonderful in theory to "stay above it," but sometimes that's just not possible.

The African American population is extremely proud of this man. And I venture to guess that most of us fully understand why he released this birth certificate - continuing to withhold it would not have been any more "uplifting" for us than doing just what he did. He uplifts us - all of us - every day and I am enormously proud of my President today.

[Shadowflash]

29. I, also, am proud

that he is my president, and I guess I just don't have the required perspective on the issue but I fail to understand why he just couldn't keep on keepin' on and let the morons keep outing themselves as racist crap.

I understand the average African American doesn't have that luxury but that's why I thought it was important for someone who DID have that luxury to make a show of that ability.

[Fire1]

37. You still don't get it. Even as president, HE doesn't have that

luxury or option. Despite the fact that they will continue to conjure up MORE BULLSHIT!!! Had it been ANY WHITE MAN OR WOMAN, THIS SHIT WOULD NOT BE AN ISSUE!!!

[Shadowflash]

40. Exactly my point.

They will keep coming up with more bullshit.

No matter what he says or does it's not gonna stop. So why even acknowledge it?

He's going to be spending alot of time holding press conferences answering to the most outlandish crap.

[Enthusiast]

107. Yes. He has yet to prove that he isn't a Muslin.

:rofl:

[tclambert]

121. Even if he proves he's not a Muslin, they'll just claim he's a Gabardine.

[Enthusiast]

129. LOL!

Idiots all.

[spooky3]

167. Women deal with shit also.

There would be other angles used to discredit a female president..

[Hutzpa]

43. Look here

polls are already showing that 5 in 10 Americans believed the President was not born in the
United States, why continue feeding on this madness?

[Shadowflash]

45. This won't change that.

They are already floating several theories as to why this is a fake. No minds are changed.

All that he's doing IS continuing this madness.

Like someone else here said - They will keep coming up with this bullshit and nothing is gonna stop them.

[EffieBlack]

47. He did shut up the "why doesn't he just release the birth certificate" crowd

Interestingly, that group was not limited to nut cases. Lots of sane people were raising that question. And many others who really do believe he was born here but found some political advantage in letting this issue percolate were also using that as an excuse. Now that he's released it, that answers their questions.

Of course, the crazies will now claim that the birth certificate is forged, altered, etc. But there's a big difference between claiming that someone must be hiding something because it hasn't been released and claiming that a document was doctored.

He's released the document, so now the sane folks who were starting to have doubts should feel better and the Boehners and Grahams of the world can no longer hide behind the "why doesn't he just release the birth certificate if he's not hiding anything" bush.

[Shadowflash]

54. I'll grant you that point.

They certainly cannot use the 'let's see it' argument anymore.

[Hutzpa]

49. What will change the narrative is if the media STOP

reporting on their BS. I'm not betting on that but my hope is that
the media will use their time wisely... ha! One can only hope.

[EffieBlack]

52. Releasing the birth certificate puts the media in a more difficult spot

They can't keep covering this issue without a lot of splainin

[Hutzpa]

53. Right

one can only hope.

[Avant Guardian]

211. It also opens up the crackpot accusation floodgates

Now that they know they might actually get a response.

[Shadowflash]

55. Amen to that!

[BobbyBoring]

116. You mean the media that carries Obamas water and looks out

for him day and night?

That media??

Never happen.

I knew racism was alive and well in America but I had no idea how alive and well it was until a 1/2 black man was elected president.

Imagine what it would be like if he was some Bernie Mac looking guy!

[loudsue]

63. I agree. There's NOTHING Obama can do to reveal any 'TRUTH' to those knuckle-heads.

They are STOOOOOOPID. Truth doesn't faze them. They're accustomed to faux news. They wouldn't know the truth if it poked their eye out.

[Azathoth]

30. Bingo. This is about self-respect.

If not for his sake, then for the sake of all those who look up to him.

[EffieBlack]

34. Are you saying that releasing the birth certificate is a sign of a lack of self-respect?

It sounds like you're making my point for me. A white president would NEVER have this extra baggage, or be accused of lacking self-respect or failing to uplift people because he chose to respond to a fake controversy. The exponentially increased obligations that he is forced to take on solely because of the color of his skin is in larger measure what blacks and other minorities have to deal with every day. And then when he makes a certain choice in the face of these extraordinary burdens, he's criticized for not being inspirational enough.

[Azathoth]

41. Yes, I am. He must not allow himself to become a second-class President

Obama is accustomed to swallowing his pride and doing whatever is necessary to defuse any given situation, and that's a fine strategy for a young intellectual looking to be the first black editor of the Harvard Law Review. But as the President of the United States, the most powerful man in the world, he is obligated to demand that he be treated with the same respect as any other occupant of that office. His enemies might hate him and there is nothing he can do about that, but he cannot allow them to diminish him or tarnish his dignity.

He chose to be a trailblazer and to become the first black President. He cheerfully accepted the extra baggage; he cannot use it as an excuse for allowing himself to be humiliated.

[EffieBlack]

44. HE is allowing himself to be a "second-class president?"

You really don't get it.

You are expressing the kind of view that blacks and other minorities constantly have to deal with - it is OUR fault that we are treated differently, it is solely up to us to adjust our sails to deal with discrimination, and if the discrimination continues, it is OUR fault for not responding to it correctly.

And trust me - He is not being humiliated. Not by a long shot. If you think less of him because of how he has chosen to address this issue, the problem lies with you, not him.

[Azathoth]

56. No, you really don't get it.

He is the President of the United States, and it is *his* responsibility to defend the honor and dignity of the office as well as to set a role model for those who look up to him as the proverbial leader of the free world. No one can tell him that he has to sit at the back of the bus, that he has to use a different drinking fountain, that he has to produce special documents to prove that he is really an American and not a Muslim Kenyan socialist. The only one who can make him a second-class President is HIM.

[EffieBlack]

60. No - I definitely get it.

One of the things I certainly get is how ludicrous it is for anyone to lecture and judge a black man in America about what he should and should not do to be a role model and uphold his dignity, etc.

This goes more than double for a black man born to a teenage mother and African father who manages to become President of the United States - a man who certainly knows more than most of us about what it takes to maintain his dignity in the face of extraordinary indignities.

Your sanctimonious lectures about how he should carry out his "responsibility to defend the honor and dignity of the office" and serve as a role model for the free world would be laughable if it weren't such an all-to-common set of demands imposed upon African Americans and other minorities in this country.

How easy it must be for you to sit at your computer dictating the President what you think he must do to conform to your notions of what it takes to be a dignified and honorable first class American citizen - and handing out demerits for his presumed failure to live up to your notion of what he should be (while blaming HIM for not measuring up).

You do this while the President stands in the ring and fights this battle in the way he sees fit. I can't fight this battle for him, but I'll be damned if I'm going to stand on the sidelines and spit on him while he does it, as some folks here seem quite comfortable - in fact, fully entitled - in doing. And in so doing, they are helping to illustrate the very dynamic that has created this situation.

[orangeapple]

163. do you want a 2nd term or not?

The media's fascination with Trump (his polling demonstrates name recognition and little more at this point in the race) kept the birth certificate crap in the news.

When polls start coming out that larger and larger percentages of people are starting to doubt his legitimacy that has to be nipped.

Think of how repeating Iraq and AQ over and over again in the news convinced a sizable portion of the country that Saddam had something to do with 9/11.

The president can't throw away votes letting Trump keep up his bullshit.

[Azathoth]

195. You have to draw the line somewhere. Once people lose respect for you, you're done.

Compromising, making deals, politicking, triangulating, pragmatic thinking -- all of that is part of the job. Humiliating yourself isn't. When it comes to matters of personal integrity, you have to stand your ground, otherwise people lose respect for you as a person. The President of the United States should not be surrendering to racist lunatics on national television. It practically drips with weakness and it sends a terrible message not just to his supporters and those who look up to him, but also to his enemies.

To make matters even worse, it makes him look incompetent in the eyes of independents. People will now ask: if he was willing and able to release the long-form certificate, why didn't he just do it years ago when this thing first took off? Why did he let this thing go for two years? And then they will immediately answer their own question: because he was playing a cute little political game. He thought it worked to his advantage to keep the birthers around, but then things got out of control when big boys like Donald Trump started to play and so he frantically had to shut the game down.

[orangeapple]

212. I think that's a fair assessment

"People will now ask: if he was willing and able to release the long-form certificate, why didn't he just do it years ago when this thing first took off? Why did he let this thing go for two years? And then they will immediately answer their own question: because he was playing a cute little political game. He thought it worked to his advantage to keep the birthers around, but then things got out of control when big boys like Donald Trump started to play and so he frantically had to shut the game down."

They were playing a calculated game keeping the birthers issue alive amongst the fringe. It made them look that much more lunatic. But when the media is asking the question over and over and over you're going to start drilling a misconception into the heads of the electorate.
With the polling shifting they made a decision to try and arrest that before it causes real, lasting damage.

Have we had a presidential candidate who didn't have two American citizen parents before? I honestly don't know. But that is the genesis of the issue. They could and should have shut this issue down years ago, but as you noted, they were playing a 'cute little political game'. When that starts to backfire, you need to put the fire out. It's not worth losing potential voters to it.

[EffieBlack]

215. An eloquent response to the "he caved" accusation:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=433&topic_id=662915&mesg_id=662915

Rules applied that would never (and have never been) applied to a white President? Check. Shifting definitions of the rules; of what constitutes acceptable evidence of his legitimacy and acceptability? Check. Questions answered, with answers ignored as the goalposts are moved to still other questions? Check. Public demonstrations that there is no level of achievement– no material, academic, political, or executive success that he could attain, no positive personal or social characteristic he could ever posses– that would ever make the rules of discrimination not apply to him? Check and double-check.

Yeah, that last one. That’s what the whole Birther thing is about, as I see it. It’s the ugliest part of America saying to America’s first black president, “That’s nice. Doesn’t matter. You’re still going to pay the black tax”.

And so he paid it. And he’ll pay it again. Just like every American who has ever been born with black skin pays it and keeps on paying it. To declare that President Obama “caved” or has “only encouraged them” by showing his papers is to deny the common experience he shares with every black American. To remove that from the equation is to retreat into the same privilege via the same luxury that permits me to put Prof. Kelley’s book aside when what it tells me hurts too much.

That’s why I’ve zoomed out into my friends’ middle distance; why there’s suddenly a chasm between myself and them. Because, from my perspective, to blame Barack Obama for trying to reassure Ugly America’s irrational fears is utterly incomprehensible. Is he supposed to face down 300 years of discrimination all by himself? Do you imagine that any man or woman could? To those of you who are looking at this issue from a purely tactical perspective– about whether or not it was the right thing to do politically– I ask you to please stop. Consider a different perspective. Reflect on the fact there might me more at work, and more at stake, than you might have realized.

http://blog.totalcinema.com/2011/04/28/walking-out-of-t... /

[Karenina]

216. That is perspective EVERYONE on this thread should take time to read. nt

[EffieBlack]

217. Indeed

Unfortunately, I suspect that those who most need to read it are the least likely to do so.

[FedUp_Queer]

133. Not sure why I'm entering this fray, but this sounds familiar.

I'm not a fan of the President (well-documented on here). I also think he did the wrong thing to do this. I get his rationale...the birth certificate crap moved from fringe to "mainstream" and became a distraction. However, that demonstrates another major miscalculation. Again, he is trying to placate people whom he cannot placate...in the same way that he insists on bipartisanship (when the GOP keeps biting his a**.) On the other hand...your argument about blaming the minority for "how they are" hit home. It reminded me of the "I don't mind gay people, but I just wish they wouldn't flaunt it" comments I often hear. On the other hand, I'm never going to satisfy the folks who say that until I go back into the closet and remain unseen and unheard.

[Azathoth]

197. You're misinterpreting what the OP said

The OP is defending the appeasement of racists. He/she is constructing a victim-hood argument which says that you can't criticize the President for humiliating himself on national television because he is a minority and is thus carrying the "extra baggage" of being hated by racists. Look at it this way: if the President was gay and the homophobes were demanding that he release his medical records to prove that he wasn't HIV positive, would it be "blaming the minority" to criticize him for surrendering to their demands?

It's one thing to compromise politically with people who hate you, but it's something else entirely when you willingly diminish yourself and the dignity of your office in order to propitiate them.

[FedUp_Queer]

213. ????

I think we agree. I read your comments that he shouldn't have done it. I dont think he should have.

[vaberella]

31. Uh, but he IS Black and unfortunately...in a country where racism lives on.

Even by the so-called media...you need to make some concessions. I don't think it diminishes the office, but it sure as hell shows the double standard in our nation and the bloody racism. This is more a referendum on them than the President.

[EffieBlack]

35. Exactly!

This definitely says much more about this country than it does about our president. But, as usual, everything is projected on to him.

[woolldog]

36. The whole point of asking him to show his BC

was to degrade him. It was a giant F U to the president. The act of forcing him to show them his birth certificate which no other president has had to do. And today they've suceeded in that. This is a sad sad day.

[Shadowflash]

48. Exactly.

[EffieBlack]

50. I'm sure he doesn't feel "degraded"

I think it's a bit much for anyone else to claim he is...

[woolldog]

61. I don't know whether he personally feels degraded or not

but I don't particularly care. I'm talking about what motivates the brithers and how it will be perceived by the public in general.

The birthers don't actually believe that he wasn't born in the US. Oh I'm sure a small minority of them do. But it's not about whether he was born in the US. It's about harassing him, degrading him and forcing him to sing to their tune, questioning his legitimacy in every possible way, because he's black. Point blank.

Which is why once he's proven this, it'll be something else: his harvard transcript, his religion, whatever. The point is not the actual truth of these charges. They don't care. It's about getting him to respond and in the process demean himself.

[freshwest]

190. How could these yahoos degrade him? He has done more in his life than almost any American.

The fact that he doesn't respond to every petty attack shows his strength. Little roosters crow about themselves and have to prove themselves over and over.

He's the least egotistical POTUS I've seen since Carter. Ego is a sign of weakness. And what he's doing is too important for him to get disturbed about what these people say and he knows that.

People that are criticizing him all the time are just wasting time. Still he's trying to save them because he's a bigger man than they are.

Are we incapable of overcoming the cult of nitpicking that the media has taught us, unable to hope for a better future?

[Enthusiast]

108. I agree. It's a sad day.

Fucking racist asshole filthy Republicans.

[treestar]

142. Racism continues up to the top

Being President doesn't allow an escape, even. What other Presidents have been held to these standards? When was any candidate even remotely required to come up with a birth certificate before?

Having a black President means we overcame racism - to a point. Not to the real racists.

[OwnedByFerrets]

+1...however, I'm will save my ranting for more important things

he is or isnt doing for me
And I am NOT saying or implying that you were ranting. :evilgrin:

[Fire1]

15. All Black folks know what the deal is but it doesn't change

the fact that we're ALL sick and Goddamn tired of the BULLSHIT!!! I'm so pissed right now, I wanna SLAP SOMEBODY!!

[EffieBlack]

17. So true

We have all lived with this crap all of our lives. We're assumed to be inferior, so we work our butts off to EXCEED expectations, then it's assumed we either cheated or lied or unfairly disadvantaged the white people we bested. And the burden is put on US to prove that we didn't. And we're supposed to deal with this sideshow activity while still performing our regular duties - in an exemplary manner, of course.

And the beat goes on and on and on.

[Fire1]

22. FURTHERMORE!! A Black man or woman GRADUATES

from an Ivy League institution, Magna Cum Laude, FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN PRESIDENT OF THE HARVARD LAW REVIEW and THIS mutha fucka has the AUDACITY to QUESTION his capabilities!!!!!!!!????????????? Black people have LONG SINCE known that WE HAVE TO BE TWICE as good AT EVERY FUCKIN THING JUST TO BE GODDAM EQUAL!!!!! FUCK THIS GOD FORSAKEN PLACE!!!

[Karenina]

208. +1

[cilla4progress]

23. It's bullying, plain and simple

[OKNancy]

18. thank you!

Hopefully in a few months this will die down. For one thing, it will stop various states from passing birther legislation.
The release has a number of advantages. I'm sorry he or you have to deal with this crap.

[EffieBlack]

27. It has also already changed the media conversation

I suspect this was less about responding to the crazy people than to give the media the cover to stop giving play to this bullshit. The commentary this morning has shifted to being very critical of Trump and the Republicans who won't step up to challenge him.

The media no longer has any rational basis (not that that is a major critieria for them) to continue covering this fake "controversy" or giving credence to the neanderthals who want to keep stirring this up. Let's hope they move to something else.

[quakerboy]

183. I hope you are wrong

On both counts.

First, I want the crazies to keep being the fool, so I hope they keep at this topic, looking more and more silly each passing day.

Second I hope that the states pass birther legislation. I want every candidate to have to present their BC to each state. If anyone was going to try to slip in an ineligible candidate it would be the republicans. Plus I want Palin and Trump and Romney and every other Republican whack job, to be forced to trot it out over and over and over till they want to scream so that they get at least a little clue of what President Obama has had to go through.

[Deep13]

19. I'm curious to read his remarks. nt

[drm604]

25. Agreed.

And in my mind he wasn't backing down at all. He didn't do it in some kind of "okay, you win, I give up" fashion. He did in a clever and even funny way. He did it in a dismissive, "let's get this nonsense behind us" fashion and he made it be about the ridiculous "carnival barker" Trump.

[lumpy]

26. Obama releasing the original birth cert. shows that he puts this

country first knowing full well that he would be criticized for trying to put an end to the lies perpetrated by people who don't respect the presidency as well as the true needs of this country. He is no wimp and certainly is not thin-skinned. I say bully for him.

[Whisp]

38. He did the right thing

I just can't imagine the enormous pressure he is under every single minute from every little racist fuckshit out there hammering on him.

and yet he carries himself with awesome grace amidst

[CakeGrrl]

28. k/r

[gademocrat7]

33. K&R

I got his back too.

[lsewpershad]

39. Know exactly

how he feels.

[Vattel]

42. Seems like a good decision to me.

It's a judgment call, and my only worry is that it will reduce the extent to which the Republicans shoot themselves in the foot by continuting to demand birtherism of their candidates. But it may be that the the birthers will continue their quest, look even dumber as a result, and the Republican party's reputation will get even worse. I hope that's the way it goes down.

[Hutzpa]

46. K&R

the main reason behind the birther movement is RACISM, period.

It's a shame we don't have black leaders of the past that could have
jump all over this and tell it like it is.

[Tarheel_Dem]

51. Awesome Post. Rec.

:kick: for my President.

[cliffordu]

57. Yep - I got his back.

K&R.

[southernyankeebelle]

58. I have never regretted voting for a calm, cool and collected president for the right time in this

time of dispare. No matter what he does he will not be accepted by some because its all about him being black. That is all this is about. I am so surprised by Trump fueling this birther issue. I never thought he was a racist until now. What little respect I had for him is gone.

[polichick]

59. K&R

[Orsino]

62. No hate here.

The Administration must been weighing the pros and cons for a long time. While I think the timing is particularly unfortunate (pumps the Trump), it won't matter in a few months (when Trump cancels his fake campaign).

The real tragedy is another piece of paper for the conspiracy theorists to pretend to dissect in the media.

[FrenchieCat]

64. I woke up this morning, and my hubby turned on the television and said.....

President Obama released his long form birth certificate.

I rubbed my eyes and said...."Well that will shut those racist ass fuckers up"....

But low and behold, I come to DU to read the spill,
and it looks like some folks have an opinion on the fact
that it was even done.

I'm telling you...
the micro managing of this President is totally out of control.

I agree with you in reference to double standards...
the sad part is that many who would swear don't partake in that kind of shit,
have been doing exactly that for 2.4 years.

Not only do the asshole GOP have about 95% of the media behind them....
are curtailing voting rights everywhere in states with asshole GOP governors,
are dismantling voting drives everywhere in states with asshole GOP governers,
are trying to shut down Unions because they are the bread and butter in funding
and organizing for the Democratic Party, and demonize organizations like the NAACP,
NPR and such....Not only that, but they are using redistricting, have much of the courts
on their side, and adding hate to injury, they've got some of the Left wing in this country
helping them out bigtime....day in, day out....complaining, talking about not voting, not donating,
not doing shit.....and worse still, some folks have already positioned themselves to blame this President when we end up with a fucked up crazy ass Republican President and senate after voting day in 2012...


So EffieBlack, from one Black woman to another.....
I'm sick and tired of all of those who fucking think they know so damn much about what the President should do, how he should react,and what he should say. They have gotten on my last nerve because they have so much fucking arrogance and not much else. Not only to believe themselves so smart as to lecture this president 24/7 on every fucking subject there is....but because now they believe they can decide what being Black in America is all about, and how Black people should react to it. Where in the fuck does this self-endowed entitlement of knowing all things come from? Don't answer, I already know the answer. He can't win for losing, and that's exactly how folks want that shit....but in the end, they will be the losers; just like those who vote against their best interest each election day who some of us rightfully call Morans.

[EffieBlack]

65. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

You said EXACTLY what I'm feeling!

The arrogance, sense of entitlement and sanctimony is sickening. And this is from his "FRIENDS!"

[FrenchieCat]

67. They aren't his friends......Effie,

they are his judges and believe themselves to be superior somehow...
although one wouldn't know it by reviewing those folks' lives and their
lifelong accomplishments.

Most of us Black folks have those kind of self appointed overseers walking around,
who follow us around and pat us on the back when we do as they say,
and kick us up our asses when they don't like what we choose.
Fuck 'em....cause they aren't all that. Not even close.

[Doctor_J]

75. Your indignation is lessened by this bit of cluelessness

I rubbed my eyes and said...."Well that will shut those racist ass fuckers up"....

No, it won't. It's very bizarre that you thought this would shut any of them up. Maybe you should give the president more credit than you are. Your implication that he should jump every time another right wing nut chirps basically says that he should accept his second class status.

[FrenchieCat]

78. It will shut them up about this birther issue......

Of course, it will never shut them up about this President's race....
but now, they will have to say something else equally ridiculous,
and I believe the President will shut them up on those issues
at a time of his own choosing as well.

As for you blaming the one being persecuted by those who want to
imply that this President is anything other than what he says he is,
the media is doing that for you...and like John Kerry, if they can
destroy him with ridiculous untruth, and encourage him to stay silent
about it; they will.

[Warren Stupidity]

199. Since when has the attack machine been short on attacks?

Their strategy is to push issue A until it hits a wall, turn and push issue B.

[kestrel91316]

122. You didn't really just call FrenchieCat clueless did you? DID YOU??

[kestrel91316]

120. A-effin'-MEN!

[freshwest]

188. X 1,000

[boppers]

189. Whoa, Frenchie. Nice post.

In summation, I think it comes down to something like this:
"It's fair for me to constantly criticize and second guess because, well, you know.... not that I'm a racist, I *have* black friends, but..."

Yeah.

Here's a hint for the general public: If you utter the words "I'm not a racist", you are a racist.

[kjackson227]

66. You're exactly right, EffieBlack...

to delegitimize, or make him irrelevant, less of an American, less of a man, less of a person, inhuman, means he's not due respect, and therefore they can ignore the fact and refuse to believe that he is the President of the United States. When the African American President of the United States has to go through this sh*t, can you imagine what other regular everyday minorities have to endure?

[dionysus]

68. the people attacking him for this are just the same people who attack him over everything. no big

surprise...

[TheBigotBasher]

69. K&R

Well stated.

[Name removed]

70. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[EffieBlack]

72. Thank you for your advice about how we will be better served

I'm sure it's well-intentioned (notwithstanding the rather bizarre "shuckin and jivin reference), but I stand by my point . . .

[dionysus]

77. "shuckin' & jivin'"? really?

[Beacool]

71. I guess that only Obama gets criticized.

There are plenty of people who still think that Vince Foster was murdered by the Clintons. Ditto for Ron Brown. There have always been batsh*t theories out there.

Presidents get attacked all the time and by all sides, nothing new there.

:shrug:

[EffieBlack]

74. If you can't see the difference between how Vince Foster and Ron Brown were played against Clinton

and this situation and if you can't differentiate between how past presidents were treated and the treatment being accorded to President Obama , you really aren't paying attention.

[Beacool]

93. How he's treated????

Where were you in the 90s? Last time I checked Obama didn't have a special prosecutor tailing his every move for 5 years, leading into impeachment.

[FrenchieCat]

94. Last time I checked.....

somebody had sex with that woman...but claim he didn't.

It ain't the same.
never was, and never will be.

[Beacool]

99. That was not the intent of the investigation. n/t

[EffieBlack]

96. You really don't get it

Wow.

[Beacool]

100. No, I don't.

:shrug:

[DevonRex]

104. Don't waste your time. Some folks like turning a blind eye to racism.

Nothing you can do to change that.

[FrenchieCat]

80. Typically Predictable......

bringing in the Clintons.......cause that's all she wrote. :boring:

[EffieBlack]

81. But but but but ... somewhere, sometime, someplace in history a white person was treated

disrespectfully which is incontrovertable proof that racism has absolutely nothing to do with how President Obama (or any other black person) is being treated . . .

[Name removed]

82. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Beacool]

92. Nope, my point is that they all get attacked.

They are not attacking Obama because he's black, they are attacking him because he's a Democrat.

:shrug:

[FrenchieCat]

97. Keep opining.......

It is because of BOTH...which is why it is way worse than what
it was with the Clintons...
but keep telling people the opposite of what they already know....
and keep thinking you're right.....when you're wrong.
Whatever fulfills you is your business.

[Beacool]

109. And whatever fulfills you is yours.

But crying racism every time someone criticizes Obama diminishes real displays of racism. That card has been playing out since the primaries. True that in the case of the birth certificate there may be some true in it, but it hasn't been the case in other instances.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

150. Nobody said any criticism of Obama is race-based.

But things like this birther nonsense, the insinuation that he didn't legitimately get into Harvard, etc., *are* racist.

And you have no right to complain about real racism being diminished when you do everything you can to divert the issue when it comes up.

[EffieBlack]

154. Funny isn't it?

How some folks insist that racism is a problem - but it's never at play in this particular instance - and then they tell us that we must keep quiet so that when racism REALLY comes up, we haven't frittered away our right to speak about it.

How grateful I am for the self-appointed protectors of the fight against racism who believe that we preserve our right to address racism by never acknowledging that racism exists.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

155. Their goalposts are on Mars at this point.

[EffieBlack]

98. They are attacking him because he's a Democrat - but they're using racism as their weapon

And the fact that he's black makes their hatred of him all the more palpable and, in their minds, justifiable.

But no matter how much they hated Bill Clinton or other Democrats, they never attacked the very essence of who they are. They did not deny their very legitimacy. And they knew that their followers would not buy that. The reason they are going after Obama in the way they are is that they know that a significant number of Americans are racist enough to buy it. They will believe that a brilliant, magna cum laude Harvard graduate who was president of the law review must have cheated his way into college - because they think that black people are inferior. They will believe that he's not really American because he's so "different." They will believe that he's somehow suspect in his very existence because he's "not one of us."

if you can't see the role that racism is playing in this scenario, I urge you to research more deeply the history, legacy and patterns of racism in America. It's not a myth. And the fact that most black people you encounter, I'll surmise, probably see it, should give you some insight. We're not ignorant crybabies. We know this game and have lived through it. It's very sad to me that so many so-called liberals believe that they understand this issue so much better than those of us who have actually experienced it and feel perfectly qualified to lecture us about it and tell us why WE don't know what we're talking about.

[politicasista]

111. +1 n/t

[DevonRex]

83. Refusing to see that this Pres faces blatant racism doesn't mean

it hasn't happened to him on a regular basis. We know Clinton was attacked. Everybody knows it. No black person here has denied it.

[Whisp]

85. nothing new, eh?

sure

and there is nothing new in pretending racisim doesn't really exist in America. Just good clean well intentioned people with the best of intentions for everyone else.

[EffieBlack]

86. Oh, these people admit that racism exists in America

It's just that it's never the case in THIS instance.

It's always some ethereal bugaboo that exists out there somewhere, but they consistently deny that it is ever at play in the present case. Moreover, they lecture those of us who do recognize it and try to point it out, accusing us of crying "wolf" or - of course - "playing the race card" which will mean that when racism REALLY rears its head, no one will take us seriously.

[DevonRex]

88. Nope. Racism doesn't exist for some people. Unless it was directed at Bill.

:eyes:

[CakeGrrl]

87. No, not a valid comparison.

This is about attacking WITHOUT MERIT his basic eligibility to hold office, not lying about a blowjob, but you're probably aware of the distinction.

[Beacool]

101. The 5 year persecution was not about his sex life, the whole thing had no merit either.

It ended up being about it because that's all they had: a guy who lied about a BJ.

[EffieBlack]

103. But it was about his behavior, whether warranted or not

It did not rely on people believing that he was innately an illegitimate, inferior, outsider phony. They didn't question his intelligence or his heritage or his Americanness or the very essence of who he was.

You can try to rationalize racist behavior and attitudes all you want. But those of us who understand this issue see exactly what's happening, regardless how you try to smooth it over as "just politics as usual."

But it's sad that you don't seem willing to even consider the perspective of those of us who actually have experienced this crap and see it for what it is.

[Name removed]

113. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[NYC Liberal]

102. Yes - but this one is easily debunked.

Not that they'll stop but they'll look even more insane now.

Not that the Vince Foster crap is any less insane.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

139. Nobody claimed Clinton was ineligible to even assume the office of the presidency.

Nobody hinted that Clinton got into Yale under specious circumstances, despite his excellent academic record.

Nobody claimed Clinton was a secret Muslim despite his very visible Christian pastor.

Nobody held anti-Clinton rallies with racial slurs and dogwhistle language printed on them.

What Clinton dealt with were run-of-the-mill goofy conspiracy theories. What Obama is dealing with are conspiracy theories that are based on or indirectly tied to his race and "exoticness," the assumption that a black man is the "other" who has no rightful place in a position only previously held by white men.

Even some DUers -- you in particular -- have claimed Obama would not have achieved this level of success were it not for his race, a stupefying assumption considering his ethnicity is the only thing about him that could have held him back in this society.

[Cali_Democrat]

158. Exactly right

Obama has to deal with a lot more than Clinton ever did. It's not even close.

The racist dog whistle shit is off the charts.

[retread]

76. I would guess this also removes the distraction of moronic state ballot laws like Louisiana's.

A distraction the media would jump all over and one not needed during a heated reelection campaign. Spares the need to take these low-lives to court and spend needless time, energy and money needed elsewhere. Then again maybe I am being too optimistic.

[Bobbie Jo]

89. K&R

[Keith Bee]

90. Right on!

K&R

[Wait Wut]

91. This is why I love the internet.

The anonymity. I wouldn't have known you were black had you not mentioned it. You probably would have no idea that I'm white. I spent over a year being "friends" with someone on a video game and never had a clue that he was Brazilian. I never think to ask what race or nationality someone is unless it comes up in conversation. I still believe it was a huge step forward for this country to elect Pres. Obama, but there is that little voice in my head that says, "why wouldn't we elect him?" Maybe some of us on the left are blind to the continued struggle that minorities face because we "hang out" all day. I see the racism and bigotry on the few Conservative sites I stalk, but I always figure that's the fringe. "Real" 'merika doesn't think that way. And, I can honestly say that my friends and family, whether they be left or right, agree with me. I hope you'll forgive me, but I try not to separate people. I think it's bad for society to distinguish between races, gender, sexual preferences, religion, etc. So many people that I know were celebrating our "first black President". I was celebrating a Democratic President that I put an extreme amount of faith into. Yes...I agree it was pretty friggin' amazing that he was black. I just never saw it as that big of an issue.

But...I have no idea what it's like, either. Being a redhead my whole life was hard enough.

Yes, our President is a black man. He is also a great man, a good man, an intelligent man and I have his back, as well.

:patriot:

[Blue_Tires]

95. thanks for this...

kicked

[BeyondGeography]

105. Rec'd

[Jennicut]

106. If he were a white man he would never have had to deal with this crap.

It just makes me angry. I am white but have had black friends throughout my life and have seen racism up close when I was around them. It made me sick then and it does now with President Obama. Enough of this already. I know certain people out there will still question him but I think it shut some people up. He did what he had to do.

[elleng]

110. Bravo and thank you.

[kenichol]

112. Spreading the Word

EffieBlack

Hope you don't mind that I used your post on a racism thread elsewhere. It was pertinent to the thread.
kenichol

http://www.topix.net/forum/source/alamogordo-daily-news/T72DJ7ECLV1U2G0K1/p10#lastPost

[kestrel91316]

114. Best post on this whole kerfuffle to date!

[tclambert]

115. Won't the racist teabaggers just claim it's a fake?

"Where's the raised seal? On the Internet, I can't tell if it has the official raised seal."

"It looks like it was printed recently. It's obviously not the original."

"I've seen a birth certificate from Kenya for Barack Hussein Obama. It had the name of the country wrong, and the city it was issued in wasn't part of Kenya in the year Obama was born, but it still looks authentic to me."

I don't think he will ever satisfy all the birther nuts out there.

By the way, has anybody seen Donald Trump's birth certificate? He claims he was born in Queens, HOWEVER, his mother is Scottish, and he may have secretly been born in Scotland! Can he prove he wasn't?

[pnwmom]

118. They already are. I checked one of their meeting spots.

It's an evil place.

[TheKentuckian]

117. I'm not on the attack but I see no benefit from the move. He held out this long

He'd could hold out until the TeaPubliKlan primaries got rolling and let the fuckwits out birfer themselves or piss off their base.

The only thing he did was allow the GOBP a lil more dignity instead of collecting powerhouse ad material.

A multi-racial/black man in America.

[pnwmom]

119. Thank you. +1000. n/t

[kenfrequed]

123. I agree

I think your post should be put out for a lot of people to read.

Granted there really aren't any actual birthers and it is an open question whether birthers are capable of self-analysis but it is a decent post.

[Harriety]

125. For the sake of sanity it was good he released it but..

I think most of us thought those birther creeps were just that, creeps. President Obama is a wonderful person, and a very intelligent man, and I'm proud to have him as my President. It's too bad these people had to make such a stink over this. Our President did this today to appease those "creeps" because he just wants to get on with the real agenda, and that would be running this country.

[proReality]

126. K&R n/t

[JDPriestly]

127. The people who question his birth certificate are fools.

There is no way you can fake a birth registration in one of the United States if you are born abroad. A birth abroad has to be registered with the consulate or country of the US over there. Even babies have passports. I had to get them for my babies. Ignorance is the problem here. Donald Trump is utterly ignorant if he ever doubted Obama's American birth.

[jbeing]

128. You know what this is about?

Yes, racism.
Yes, a smokescreen for Republican thievery.
And yes, a way to Disaster Capiltalize us.

What galls me is that TeaBirthers think they have some inside knowledge about how government works. They use terms like "long form" and "short form" like idiots that just got a law degree online (Congratulations, you just won a Law Degree. Click Here).

Yes, they know what's wrong with this country, except most of them don't know what the state is next to their own, and don't know what state their own country is in.

Jerks with guns, long forms and mouths filled with Nazi Koch.

We are witnessing the greatest attempted theft in the history of the world. The Kochs, the neocon-men, the corporations (with citizen's rights) are robbing the life from real citizens (with no rights). They want to stockpile their assets so that those little brown (any color, but white) multiplying people are under their control for generations to come. What they want us to discuss are Royal Weddings, Jersey Whore, Birth Certificates and Lindsay Lohan. Anything but what our real immediate problems are.

Like bad magicians, they think that if they divert our attention and make our homes and lives disappear that we won't come back and destroy them. WRONG! Part of a magician's show has to do with restoring what they have made disappear. The Republicans and their overlords are not capable of restoring anything. Not even the1950s BS "Father Knows Best" America that never really existed.

We must hurt them in the pocketbook. We must make them realize there will be a war if they continue to take everything and give nothing back. It's time they realize that they are vulnerable, too.

I suggest we stop discussing birth certificates, because the RW Cons are already filling out the Death Certificate for this country.

[nolabear]

132. Amen and amen!! Doing what you have to do is a long, tough tradition.

Doing it with grace and elegance is a beautiful thing. I admire it, and can learn from it.

[Diamonique]

134. You are SO right, and I've got his back too!

[Scurrilous]

135. K & R

:thumbsup:

[Exultant Democracy]

136. As a black person I am some what offened by your post. While true in many ways it does apply to this

He had nothing to gain from releasing the BC and everything to gain by not feeding the trolls.

[BklnDem75]

207. As a black person, I'm curious which part of the OP offended you.

You don't have to agree with Obama's decision, but you don't even mention the offense. Is the act of backing Obama offensive to you?

[Name removed]

137. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[DevonRex]

141. Vomit-inducing post.

[jenmito]

138. Great post! And anyone who missed Hardball at 5pm should watch it at 7pm. He called Obama

a winner today and Trump and the other birthers big losers and worse. Then he had two of them on his show and destroyed them.

[treestar]

140. K&R

Thank you for that reminder.

[tavalon]

143. I just woke up and have no idea what you're talking about

I thought Hawaii had already released whatever records there are and that only whackadoos were saying there was something else. Could you give me some context?

[EffieBlack]

The White House released the long form Certificate of Birth that the birthers have been demanding

The President previously released the short form Certification of Birth, which is the official document for the State of Hawaii, but the birthers insisted that was not enough and demanded to see the longer form. But the state does not release those. The President had his lawyers request a waiver for the release and got it and they put out that version today.

The President did a brief press conference and made everyone look ridiculous - and called Trump a carnival barker.

But some folks here are calling the President a wimp, a sellout, etc. for "caving in" to the birthers. My OP addressed those accusations.

Hope that's helpful.

[tavalon]

196. I've long beein the camp that Obama is good for someone, just probably not us.

However, this was masterful move of the President's , mot as proof but to show these charlatans to all the world as the morons they are. If their heads hurt, it's because he slam dunked them, repeatedly.

[politicasista]

144. Kick.

He did what he had to do.

:kick:

Weird, Obama gets lauded for taking a positive high road, while other Democrats (past candidates) are still berated for it. :shrug:

[DCBob]

146. I have one word for those people..

clueless.

[FarLeftFist]

149. K&R!

[Danger Mouse]

151. I wish he hadn't done it, but I understand why he did and won't criticize him for doing it.

[Bo Dawg]

152. Now they're picking on his dog? Seriously?

Hey! Leave the dog alone!

Bo's response to illegitimacy claim, "Donald Trump can
kiss my furry, black @$$!"

Bo's response to The Donald's latest attack: 

http://www.obama-dog.com/blog/2011/04/donald-trump-ann-coulter-birther.html

[gateley]

153. Effie, I thin he handled it perfectly. He released the official birth cert years ago

(as you know) and probably just felt this was something that would keep on going BECAUSE he's Black. (I'm convinced it's racists and it somehow allowed them to "come out" and express their hatred of O in an "acceptable" way.) Now, when it got to be taking over the news because of Trump re-fanning the flames, he decided to put an end to it because as he said, we don't have time for this silliness there are far more important issues we need to be addressing.

I don't understand how people can criticize him for this -- if he hadn't done it, who knows how long it would go on?

I've ALWAYS got his back, even when I'm so mad at him I want to scream. I'm very grateful and proud he's our President. :patriot:

Edit -- oops, screwed up the smilie. :blush:

[av8rdave]

156. K&R This post should be a lesson in empathy, something many seem to be incapable of

Nice job!

:toast:

[Cali_Democrat]

157. Very true

It's really hard for people to understand this unless they themselves are in the shoes of a minority.

[Betsy Ross]

159. K&R in Solidarity. n/t

[Mister Ed]

160. Plain truth. n/t

[LynneSin]

161. It's true. A Minority, no matter how well they do in society will always be held suspect

and it's a fricking shame about that too =(.

[elias7]

162. You're Black?

Just trying to get your attention.

Understanding perspective and shifting into others identities is not always a strong point on DU. There's a lot of passion here, not always a lot of nuance. There's a lot of smarts, but sometimes a lack of real intelligence.

Thanks for your post. It exceeds any effort I have ever made to broaden viewpoints and rein in some of the emotionalism. Cheers... :toast:

[forty6]

164. Recommending this thread, as someone who does NOT know what

it is to be a member of a minority racial group in this nation.

Your OP woke us up! Thanks!

[Gormy Cuss]

166. For the posters who say that you need to be a person of color to understand this, I say

open your eyes, clear the wax out of your ears and start listening. It's not that hard to understand if you hear what's being said and try to see what they see all of their lives.

I disagree with the president on a number of fronts but I'll be damned if I'll ever dismiss the racism in this country just because we have an African-American POTUS.

[customerserviceguy]

168. I'd buy your assertion three years ago

when Barack Obama was a first-time candidate for President. But he won the election, he really doesn't have to prove anything beyond his capability to do the job to get a second term.

Trump is an expert at getting people, even slightly famous people, to make fools of themselves on his idiot shows. He engineered that whole Perez Hilton-Carrie Prejean prizefight, at of all things, the dying venue of a beauty pageant. Now he's made President Obama jump through a hoop like a circus animal, and he's trying to do the same thing with demanding the release of his school grades. What's the next "Survivor" obstacle that Trump will throw in the President's way when he wants the next round of humiliation?

Trump doesn't want to be President, he only wants Obama NOT to be President, and by making him look like a fool, he's helping the Repukes win the next election. He's allowed all of the Rethugs to have a shot at distancing themselves from the birther position well before the certificate came out. The President didn't convince anyone of anything by releasing it, those who find him 'foreign' still do so, even Trump has poured gasoline on the fire by suggesting that the certificate might not pan out as genuine.

If a President had to humiliate himself for the sake of his nation (think of E. G. Marshall's portrayal of the President in "Superman II", when he agrees to 'kneel before Zod' in order to save lives) it would be one thing, but to do it to appease lunatics for the craven sake of trying to be re-elected is what Trump manufactured as entertainment for snickering Republicons.

[EffieBlack]

169. You think the President "humiliated himself?"

Then you have totally missed my point.

[customerserviceguy]

170. Yes, I do

Everybody who voted for him in 2008 didn't need anything other than the already released certificate, and the newspaper announcements. Going the extra mile here didn't change one single mind.

If you've read the rest of my post, and you don't think the President was played like a chump by Trump, then you totally missed my point. If I understand your OP, you're trying to sell the idea that minorities have to 'prove' themselves more than those from the majority. While that might have been true in the 2008 campaign, it's not true anymore. All Barack Obama has to prove is that a second term for him will be of benefit to the country, not that he was born in this country.

[Tarheel_Dem]

171. The release wasn't for Trump. It was for the media. You know, that 24/7

beast that has covered Trump's insane ass, round the clock, for more than a week? You totally missed the point. :eyes:

[customerserviceguy]

172. And Trump engineered the media feeding frenzy

No serious media outlet ever questioned the legitimacy of the President's assertion that he was born in Hawaii. But they loved selling papers off of trying to let Trump gin up a fake fight over this non-issue. They'll do the same thing over Barack Obama's school grades, and they'll gladly plunge back into any manufactured controversy over the President's religious beliefs.

You don't starve the beast by feeding it.

[EffieBlack]

173. I think the President's action today will make it less likely the press will pump the grades issue

They have egg all over their faces and are now falling all over themselves distancing themselves from Trump and the birthers. In fact, they are outright calling the grade issue racist.

I think the President's release of the document was directed not at the birthers but at the media and sane people in the middle. And it seems to be working.

[customerserviceguy]

177. We will see about that

The news media (at least the legitimate press, not the reich wing delusional blogs) can claim that it does not have any egg on its' face, because they can assert that they never bought Trump's birther claims, only that they reported that he was making them. Since it got the President to issue something that he didn't have to, they're probably interested in helping Trump goad some report cards out of Barack Obama, to "prove" that he's not some affirmative action project.

The more the President shovels at them to "prove", the more they're going to demand. He took one giant step on a slippery slope today, when he could have remained on the high ground. Trump would have dropped out of the Repuke race in a few weeks, when NBC had to announce the fall TV schedule. Now, he's out crowing that he is the guy who got things done, and you'd be crazy to think that he and his media machine are going to back away from future document demands.

The media enjoys watching people make fools of themselves, and they were happy to cover Trump while he was the only one doing that. Now, the President has stepped into the ring with Trump, and they can't wait to see them both take and deliver blows.

[Tarheel_Dem]

175. Tell that to John Kerry. (nt)

[Azathoth]

200. Agree. Bonus points for the "kneel before Zod" reference.

:thumbsup:

[calimary]

174. I've got his back, too. And I think this whole sordid affair with the RACISTS (they're not birthers,

let's be honest here and call them what they REALLY are: RACISTS) is just shameful and disgraceful and deeply embarrassing. I feel horrible for Obama, being subjected to this kind of shit. I'd like to think we've grown up a little since the South LOST - repeat - LOST the Civil War. LOST. GET OVER IT. And clearly we haven't. It's just deeply embarrassing. I say that as a white woman in America. It's frickin' MORTIFYING. No wonder we're laughed at all over the world. Whoopie. American exceptionalism, alright.

:sarcasm:

[rhett o rick]

178. He yielded to the terrorists. It wont stop there. Now they know they got him. Now they know they can

force him to do their will. You cant negotiate with terrorists, yet Pres Obama continues to try.

[TatonkaJames]

179. How dare they to the only person with "class" in Washington D.C.

My president, whether I agree with his policies or not (I voted for him) is the classiest man in the Capitol.
He puts up with the racist banter the media allows to be aired with the utmost dignity. He's still trying to
compromise as an example of how people should when faced with different stances. What a role model for our kids.
And they have to put him through this ? The media will continue this because they are soul-less and care only about
the Almighty $$.
The president said, we have serious problems. We do and we're getting ripped off by our own government which makes
our lives more difficult each year. And they will still focus on silliness. We deserve what happens to us in America because all we do is
allow this to happen year after year and do nothing but talk about it.
I see demonstrations on the M.E. They're tied of being controlled. Well, keep up the B/S. we're not far from being controlled more than
we are already. Then it will be too late.

[Puzzler]

180. He didn't release it. Hawaii did.

The document wasn't his to release in the first place.

[webDude]

182. We've got his back, is he returning the favor? I fear he is just another puppet.

[eridani]

193. Pesonally, I think that the birther idiocy just marginalizes Republicans

That can only be a good thing.

[Warren Stupidity]

198. Sorry - wrong answer.

Caving in to racist idiocy is not the right answer.

[BumRushDaShow]

201. Oh HELLZ YES!

The whole of our 24/7/365 is being played out in its full glory in this perfect example! :applause:

It eats me up so every time he is attacked, whether it was Reverend Wright, his chosen name, the Bill Ayers nonsense, his step father and childhood abroad, his birth certificate, his his college transcripts, and on and on... and the only thing that soothes me is his demeanor through it all ('cause I know if I were Michelle, I'd be beyond burning up and howling inside - thank God her mother is there to steady them).

[MaeScott]

202. K and R. Put this coat every day. nt

[olegramps]

204. I think that it is a sad day for real Americans.

To think that some disgusting asshole like Donal Trump can gain so much media attention that a citizen has to go to extemes to prove his citizenship is down right disgusting. It is even more despressing that even when President Obama presented his so-called long form, the majority of Republicans continue to claim he is not a citizen. It is racism, plain and simple.

I hope that minorities reallize that they are despised by a large segment of our citizens who are determined to deny them equal treatment. The solution is register and vote. This is the only why to crush the ignorant red-necks. Trump is just another Fr. Couglin or McCarty spewing hatred.

[sinkingfeeling]

205. Excellent post!

[Yavin4]

206. As An African American, You Have To Prove and Re-Prove Yourself Every Day

I work in IT, and I have White colleagues who are utterly incompetent. Yet, they get by based on their "personality". As an African American, every day is test day. Every day, I have to prove my competence even though I've done it several times in the past.

[Karenina]

210. In my field, what blew my mind coming in contact

with the public-at-large was their ability to NOT SEE who was standing before them. The black face ERASED any physical evidence at the scene due to their assumptions. Would you be so kind to indulge Tante K. in a little story?

I could forgive people for assuming I was a singer when entering a venue. Black woman going backstage must be a singer, right?
Can I tell you how often, as people SAW ME carrying an instrument, they asked what I would sing? I'd entertain them by first asking if they even KNEW what my axe was called, stories about making reeds, while batting them away as they wanted to "try it."

One night at Alphonso's in Burbank, as I worked the room 'bo in hand, reed in mouth, I was asked 4 times what I was going to sing. I was sitting with people, standing next to tables with an oboe in my right hand, held close to my chest. As I moved towards the stage, knowing I was on next, an "innocent" couple greeted me by asking what I was going to sing.

It was a controlled rage but they felt the force of it. "Are you so BLINDED by your assumptions that you cannot see THIS?" I pulled the reed out of my mouth with the same hand that held the 'bo. "I am NOT a singer."

I played Jobim's "How Insensitive" and was VERY WARMLY received by the audience...

It's the daily grind...

[Bunny]

209. Well, here's the perspective of another black person:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vX5ueEKsSWc&feature=player_embedded

He's not feeling much like 'going along to get along' and I (a white woman, FWIW) agree with him.

[EffieBlack]

214. He also didn't criticize the president in the video - just the opposite

He attacks Donald Trump and his ilk and goes after the general public and the media for allowing this to happen. But he does not accuse the president of "going along to get along" or "humiliating" himself or "caving in" as some here are doing.