In the battleground state of Florida, one McCain official wonders if the man leading in the polls is actually Indonesian.
In Florida, volunteers for John McCain’s campaign have been buzzing about a discredited rumor that Barack Obama is not a natural born United States citizen, but either Kenyan or Indonesian. That’s not surprising—the rumor has enjoyed a long life on the Internet. But now a McCain campaign official in Broward County, Fla., is indulging in the same fantasizing. Tim McClellan, the Northeast Broward County regional manager for the McCain campaign, told me on Friday that he has doubts about Obama’s citizenship.
“I have strong concerns that Obama is not a citizen,” McClellan said. “Did he go to Indonesia and become an Indonesian citizen? And if so, did he take steps to regain his citizenship?”
According to McClellan, Obama’s birth certificate—a copy of which has been independently verified by news organizations—is a forgery. McClellan pointed to a recently dismissed lawsuit by Pennsylvania resident and 9/11 truth advocate Philip J. Berg alleging that Obama is really a Kenyan citizen as evidence that the Democratic nominee will eventually be removed from office when the truth comes out.
“I suspect the U.S. Supreme Court will prove that Obama’s not a citizen,” McClellan said.
I asked McClellan if he was frustrated that McCain was not making the case that Obama is not a genuine American.
“Yes, and I think that’s true of a good majority of Republicans,” McClellan said, “You have to look at why more of it isn’t getting attention, though. The mainstream media is very liberal and the word doesn’t get out.”
"I have strong concerns that Obama is not a citizen," a McCain campaign official said. "Did he go to Indonesia and become an Indonesian citizen?"
Broward County, of course, was the battleground of the 2000 recount. But if McClellan was off-message in his campaign duties, he was hardly alone. Several volunteers at rallies this week mentioned the birth certificate issue, among other Obama conspiracy theories. Pamela Geller, author of the popular conservative blog Atlas Shrugs, even held a rally in Sunrise, Fla., on Friday to call on the Federal Election Commission to bar Obama from further campaign spending on the basis that he is not a natural born US citizen. Geller made news earlier in the week when she argued in a rambling 12,000-word essay that Malcolm X may be Barack Obama’s biological father. Politico reporter Ben Smith described the piece as the “frontiers of craziness.”
What was most fascinating about McClellan and other conspiracy-minded Republicans in Broward was that they did not seem to believe there was any conflict between their theories and the McCain campaign’s own claims. McCain himself walks a fine line when raising questions about Obama’s past (“Who is the real Barack Obama?”). His staff, it seems, is working overtime to fill in the blanks.
Benjamin Sarlin covered New York City politics for The New York Sun and has worked for talkingpointsmemo.com. He is a graduate of Vassar College.
Tracy Quan's latest novel is Diary of a Jetsetting Call Girl, set in Provence and praised in The Nation as a "deft account of occupational rigors and anxieties before the crash." Tracy's debut, Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl, and the sequel, Diary of a Married Call Girl, are international bestsellers. A regular columnist for The Guardian, she has written for many publications including Cosmopolitan, The Financial Times, and The New York Times.
Joe Mathews is a journalist, an Irvine senior fellow at the New America Foundation, and a contributing writer at the Los Angeles Times. He previously served as Justice Department reporter for the Wall Street Journal and as a city desk reporter at the Baltimore Sun. He is the author of The People’s Machine: Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Rise of Blockbuster Democracy.
Gerald Posner is the award-winning author of 10 investigative nonfiction bestsellers, ranging from political assassinations, to Nazi war criminals, to 9/11, to terrorism (www.posner.com). Posner lives in Miami Beach with his wife, the author Trisha Posner.
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Benjamin Sarlin is a reporter for The Daily Beast. He previously covered New York City politics for The New York Sun and has worked for talkingpointsmemo.com.
Benjamin Sarlin is a reporter for The Daily Beast. He previously covered New York City politics for The New York Sun and has worked for talkingpointsmemo.com.
Benjamin Sarlin is a reporter for The Daily Beast. He previously covered New York City politics for The New York Sun and has worked for talkingpointsmemo.com.
Benjamin Sarlin is a reporter for The Daily Beast. He previously covered New York City politics for The New York Sun and has worked for talkingpointsmemo.com.
How can people be so ignorant. His name is not John Smith so people think he is a foreigner. After Obama wins on Tuesday, McCain has to speak the truth about Obama, and rally his supporters toward Obama and end all this hate talk or he will lose what little credibility he has left.
McCain's campaign is exactly what's wrong with America, fear and ignorance towards anything and anyone who does not fit into a little box.
It is embarrassing and disappointing that John McCain has not squelched these rumors coming from within his campaign. He perpetuates divisiveness and hostility. I have never seen Presidential candidates fuel this kind of anger at rallies before. McCain/Palin have changed the dynamics of what is acceptable in campaigns. Palin is masterful at spewing untruths. John McCain, who I had once had so much admiration for has lost every ounce of decency. It is shameful, despicable and hypocritical that winning means so much to him that he would associate himself with staffers and pundits who blatantly spread these lies.
McCain has to control his people and who supposedly "support" him or work for him. How can the Rrepulicans try to open that particular can of worms? First saying he's Kenyan then saying he's Indonesian now?
McCain WAS NOT BORN IN THE UNITED STATES. HE WAS BORN IN PANAMA WHILE HiS FATHER WAS STATIONED IN PANAMA. No one tried to use this particular information to say that McCain can't run for president because he wasn't born in the United States of America.
Obama's state of birth? Hawaii
McCain's state of birth? No where on the contiguous US, or the other 2 states.
Can you imagine the attack the Republicans would have came up with if Obama was born in Panama? In that light, it's surprising that more people think Obama's muslim then people who knows McCain was not technically born in any of the 50 states.
I was the excited moderate republican wish for a McCain/Liberman ticket when the primary seasons started almost a year ago. I don't support Obama either. And all types of these smearing really pisses me off about this election. Maybe some parts of the population are easily manipulated, but more of us aren't pissed off about this. I can't wait till tuesday when all this none sense is over with.
I am so scared for this great country I call home.
I don't care if Obama was born on Mars. I still would vote for him over McCain. I think most people at this point would too due to nikz888's comments.
Millions of people actually do have a point. McCain had no problem showing his ORIGINAL birth certificate. Odd that Obama goes to all these lengths to avoid showing his. By the way, that thing on his FightTheSmears site isn't his original birth certificate, so the "rumor" hasn't been "discredited" -- far from it. Obama's continued refusal to divulge it only bolsters the certainty that he has a lot to hide. Otherwise, we'd have seen it by now. Let him "man up" like McCain did. Obviously, he can't.
Aaaah! Obots in full force, I see.
This issue could have been resolved long time ago. All that needed to be done was for Obamarx to release his COLB for public scrutiny. As simple as that. If everything was in order, what is the point of hiding it?
BTW, despite Acorn voter fraud, Obamarx's apellations through his medial poodles and massive cash, Obamarx won't be able to buy elections. Americans aren't stupid (at least the majority) and won't vote for an empty suit with a discernable socialistic agenda.
I continue to be amazed at how STUPID & GULLIBLE people can be. Wake up Mr. McClellan- how would he have gotten to be a senator if he wasnt a citizen. Do you really think everyone- from the colleges he attended to the drivers license bureau to the mortgage company he dealt with didnt verify his birth and citizen records. How do you spell MORON!
I find this latest claim quite tasteless. I am Canadian and have been taking a keen interest in this US election, like most international spectators. This type of questioning of Senator Obama's citizenship is more appropriate for Jay Leno's street quizes than an election campaign.. tsk, tsk, tsk.
Republicans, well, most always, always support their leaders; be them Democrat or Republican. It's the Democrats who hit the streets with picket signs every chance they get. Colin Powell said the message we're sending to Al Jazeera is "killing us", when we engage smear tactics in our campaigns. Funny, this seems to escape him and the rest of you though as it relates to bashing Bush. Barack Obama has been attacked on relatively non-issue based, dirty fashions - because of no one other than Barack Obama. If I spend all day dicking around in a garbage dump, is it then unfair of you to accuse me of smelling badly? I digress.....
What is ridiculous, is that Obama and his lawyers from the Council for American-Islamic Relations (you heard me, just google it) haven't put this "rumor" to be by presenting supporting documentation in court. The cases that have been thrown out, were thrown out NOT based on merit - but rather, based on the standing of the party who brought the charges, to do so. The point has been questioned, if a citizen doesn't have a right to ask that the Constitution (which is really a contract between "we the people" and our federal government) to be upheld, who does? Barack Obama has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars fighting these cases, when all he had to do was present an ACTUAL, long-form, authentic, vault birth certificate. We vet little league players better than we've vetted Obama. What "nonpartisan" factcheck.org "validated", was a "Certificate of Live Birth", not a birth certificate. The COLB is a snapshot of an actual birth certificate, and in Hawaii....you can get a COLB even if you weren't born in this country.
What is "embarassing and disappointing" is that the Democratic party dropped the ball on this one, and let this guy get this far without ever properly vetting him. Now you're stuck, and everyone has to be complicit with what might very well be the greatest fraud ever perpetrated against the American people and our most coveted process. I would love to be proven wrong here.
A Director from Hawaii now says, "I saw it peeps...it's cool. It's legit." Well, it's a little late for that to be good enough. Obama's behavior in the court cases is far too suspect at this point. If one such authentic, long form, vault birth certificate exists....he would have just handed it over to the courts, the Federal Election Commission, the DNC and any other forensic experts who had a problem with it. In law, if a document helps - you turn it over immediately. If it hurts, you do everything you can to conceal it. That is what Obama has done. And it's not just with his birth certificate. Here's a list of things we missed along the way with Obama, that virtually EVERY OTHER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE IN THE MODERN HISTORY OF THE OFFICE HAS HANDED OVER BEFORE EVEN BEING CONSIDERED FOR THE JOB!!!!!!:
1. Occidental College records -- Not released
2. Columbia College records -- Not released
3. Columbia Thesis paper -- "not available"
4. Harvard College records -- Not released
5. Selective Service Registration -- Not released
6. Medical records -- Not released
7. Illinois State Senate schedule -- "not available"
8. Law practice client list -- Not released
9. Certified Copy of original Birth certificate -- Not released
10. Embossed, signed paper Certification of Live Birth -- Not released
11. Harvard Law Review articles published -- None
12. University of Chicago scholarly articles -- None
13. Record of baptism-- Not released or "not available"
14. Illinois State Senate records--"not available"
"You're just a jerkoff right winger who's mad 'cause he's gonna lose." Brotherman, I'm a Republican. I never win, and I never lose. When we win, we deal with the aptly named liberal pussies picketing everything they can. When we lose, we support our leaders and hope for the best. For the first time, I can't do that though - because this guy hasn't properly vetted himself to even be legitimate. All he has to do, to gain the satisfaction of those of us who DON'T wear tin foil hats (because I'll admit, there are plenty of actual "whack jobs" on this issue) is release the real, long form, vault birth certificate....and his Occidental and Harvard Law records. That's all.
OK..this is waaay over the top...I'll be so happy when the election is over and we can move on.
Wasn't John McCain ranting about Obama not repudiating attacks people made on McCain during debate #3? And that he (McCain) always repudiates attacks. Anyone else sometimes feel like we live in Lewis Carroll's Wonderland?
I find the GOP tactics to personally discredit Obama quite odd. I initially supported McCain against Hillary and had lots of respect for the guy. Now, i just can't wrap my mind around he's allowed himself to become. People keep saying that the negative campaigning is a sign of his desperation. But i don't buy it. It would only be a boon to McCain's campaign to come out explicitly against racist innuendo and personal attacks against Obama. Racially motivated voters in the GOP would not be affected by McCain's *public* discredit of prejudice, and Republican backers who have to swallow the bitter association with the racial prejudices within the "base" of the GOP in order to continue supporting McCain would sigh in relief. McCain and Palin's continued fear mongering and personal discrediting of Obama seems to be serving no one, least of all McCain/Palin, and pointing to their low numbers does little to explain it...
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Unbelievable! McCain has put an incredible finish on what i thought was a pretty good record...oh, except that Keating thing. More money to send to Barack. Didn't think I could afford more, but the most recent campaign revelations from McCain has put a stop to that.
In all fairness, McCain was born in Panama. There may be many who would have an issue with that fact.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/28/us/politics/28mccain.html
The time is right for an Obama/Biden Presidency. We are deserving of such greatness.
Hey, where was John McCain born? Why doesn't this ever come up when the McCain campaign officials are discussing Obama's birth in one of the 50 states?!
I've lost all respect for John McCain. He calls himself a "maverick" while reciting the Republican party platform and attacks Obama's character rather than promoting his own policies. He is obviously making a last-minute play for the "fearful bigot" vote. I hope he lies awake at night, tortured by his own hypocrisy.
Hawaii officials declare Obama birth certificate genuine
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Associated Press
State officials say there's no doubt Barack Obama was born in Hawai'i.
Health Department Director Dr. Chiyome Fukino said today she and the registrar of vital statistics, Alvin Onaka, have personally verified that the health department holds Obama's original birth certificate.
Fukino says that no state official, including Republican Gov. Linda Lingle, ever instructed that Obama's certificate be handled differently.
She says state law bars release of a certified birth certificate to anyone who does not have a tangible interest.
Some Obama critics claim he was not born in the U.S.
Earlier today, a southwest Ohio magistrate rejected a challenge to Obama's citizenship. Judges in Seattle and Philadelphia recently dismissed similar suits.
This means nothing. If Obama is a citizen then he needs to provide a certified birth certificate and put these so called rumors to rest.
Until he does there are valid concerns. Read Philip Berg's lawsuit before you try to discredit it. If you don't know what it's about your opinion doesn't count.
The article in the link is hardly proof of anything.
Come one now!!!!!!
What about John McCain being born in Panama?
I hope the republican party goes the way of the Whigs and a reform party develops and we have some shared values but differences on policies that attracts all types of people. If this new party embraces things like universal health care and kicking out all the racist and wing nuts this can improve America.
If the claim is he "lost" his citizenship when he moved to Kenya or Indonesia, of what relevance is his birth certificate? Mixing two competing and inconsistent claims for "non citizenship" -- If he was not born here, (but he was) he is not natural born citizen, and it would not matter if he later became a citizen anywhere else. If he WAS born here, and has a BC to prove it (he does) then an alternate argument could be "he lost citizenship" by some act of his parents, later. But, sorry, that isn't how it works as a legal matter. So the "lost citizenship" argument is impossible and also, I am afraid, desparate and flat stupid. BTW McCain was born in Panama but he is a citizen. He is also a sad shell of his former self.
OffalTruth brings up a good point. It's hilarious that the Republicans cast doubts on Obama's citizenship, and it's almost race-baiting considering the facts. Obama was born in Hawaii after its admittance into the Union, making him a natural-born citizen. What's rarely reported is that McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone while it was an unincorporated, unorganized territory of the United States, which, if he hadn't had at least one American parent, would make him an alien in this country. A bipartisan review established him as a "natural-born" citizen instead of "naturalized upon birth". But the point stands that it's McCain who was born outside the United States, not Obama. This issue with Obama's citizenship is manufactured to the highest degree.
Uhm, you can't lose your American citizenship if you take on the citizenship of another country. My God, who exactly is making up the republican party?
Thank you.
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