Now the document dam has been breached.

[JohnnyRingo]

This is like when Clinton released information from when he was governor to prove there was no reality to the "Troopergate" issue.

Troopergate was, at that time, the most ridiculous charge that could have been leveled at a sitting president. No one in their right mind could believe that when Clinton was in the Arkansas governor's limousine he would instruct state troopers to pull over young ladies and bring them back to his car for roadside sex, yet a percentage of republicans adamantly insisted just that. They required proof that it wasn't true.

Instead of telling these conspiracy theorists they have anger issues that separates them from simple logic, the Clintons showed their southern hospitality by cooperating in the surreal investigation. Troopers were questioned under oath and House leader Tom Delay spent precious tax money leading an inquiry into the absurd.

That should have settled it, but it only served to sprinkle blood in the political waters for the sharks who never wanted to admit Clinton was their president. Next, the predators insisted on documents proving innocence in the White Water land deals. The White House, knowing they couldn't jam the cork back in the champaign bottle cooperated and once again the Clintons were cleared.

What followed was a deluge of demands ordering the president to release everything from college records to his high school transcripts. They threw so many fishing lines with weak bait into the waters the White House spent a disproportionate amount of time running in circles addressing each demand. Clinton found himself in a position where putting his foot down and saying "enough!" was tantamount to admitting he was hiding something. After all, he cooperated on other accusations.

This absurd demand for every document that had the president's or his wife's name on it would have gone on throughout his tenure had word not filtered though about a woman who had a friend with a stained a blue dress. Republicans, suspecting they finally had more than an old boot on their hooks threw their poles aside to focus on the lucky hit. And so it began that the entire republican majority revealed their true motive to impeach the president at any or all costs, and Ken Starr got a new job.

Is Obama releasing his birth certificate the end of his ordeal, or does this mark the beginning of GOP fishing season? I believe the birther issue will appear sane in retrospect in a few months compared to what they'll demand now. Obama's residence was never the real issue, it was about hatred of a democratic president and free fishing licenses for anyone who wants one now.

[eleny]

1. Fishing season

[notesdev]

2. I had the same thought

This was a terrible mistake. It lends credibility to the charge and opens the doors to a reinvestigation of every element of his personal history.

On the other hand, if it causes him not to run again in 2012, it might be the best possible outcome for the Democratic Party. Because this party is about to crack under the strain of supporting someone who consistently supports asset-stripping financial vampires above regular citizens and sends our military to war thoughtlessly, who fiddles with basketball brackets while the economy burns, who pursues even more manufacturing-base-depleting free trade agreements while ever-increasing numbers of decent and able people find their very survival threatened by the lack of productive, paid work available in the economy. The damage we took in the last election due to his poor leadership alone will take a decade to recover from. If there is some way to avoid a repeat in 2012 of that disaster, it would be a grand achievement in risk mitigation.

[dkf]

4. Lol releasing the long form gives credibility to birther charges?

How is that? It destroys the accusations, not validates them.

[RaleighNCDUer]

6. No, it doesn't give credibility to the charges - but it DOES give

credibility to them making the charges. As the OP pointed out, it may put Obama in the position of now having to respond to every spurious charge, no matter how inane, or be forced to endure "What are you hiding?" if he doesn't.

[dkf]

7. But Obama has shown their charges are baseless.

They are crying wolf. This only validates him and invalidates them. If he can bust out evidence destroying every stupid little theory they have whose credibility is boosted and whose is destroyed?

Are they pleased that he keeps on pulling out evidence that crushes their crazy theories? Is that really empowering them or destroying them?

[RaleighNCDUer]

8. Did you even read the OP?

It's exactly what they did with Clinton. They kept throwing shit at him, and he kept responding, until they finally came up with one thing - to which he ALSO responded. But it cost MILLIONS of dollars, wasted everybody's time and turned his second term into a joke, eventually costing Gore the presidency.

OTOH, when Bush was attacked for his AWOL TANG service, his joking about killing death row inmates, searching for WMDs in his office, he NEVER responded. The one thing that got any traction, the AWOL, was killed indirectly not by answering the charges but by discrediting the person who was following up on them.

It makes NO difference what the facts are - it is forcing him to respond that is the goal. It creates distractions, diverts the political conversation, and makes progress impossible. It lets THEM set the agenda.

And that is a problem.

[JohnnyRingo]

9. My point exactly.

and well said.

Bush refused to cooperate at any level because he was privy to the new rules as set by Republicans against Clinton. He wasn't going to fall for their own game by disclosing anything, beginning with demands for Cheney's energy task force participants.

[notesdev]

10. here you go

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2011/04/27/trump_to_obama_now_release_your_college_records.html


Took Trump what, 45 minutes to figure this out? Geebus, this is disastrous.

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

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

[jwirr]

5. Can't you just hear it in 2012? Both candidates must now release

their birth certificates - long form, their school transcripts and their job performance records for all jobs they have ever held. The gate is open but it swings both ways.