# Whitehouse releases Obama long form birth-certificate **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 27, 2011, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whitehouse-releases-obama-long-form-birth-certificate/579889 "2011-04-27T13:47:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whitehouse-releases-obama-long-form-birth-certificate/579889/81 "2011-04-27T16:22:51Z")
Does anyone know how the White House got this copy? I had been hearing that the original document was not accessible to the public, that you could possibly see it if you went there in person, that it may not exist in paper form anymore, etc. Then a couple of days ago on Anderson Cooper 360, they mentioned that a person could file an FOIA request and get a copy of the document in a few weeks, but that won’t be a legal document that you can use to get a passport or take office - it would just be a copy of some document that the state has in its files. Did they get this through an FOIA request? ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whitehouse-releases-obama-long-form-birth-certificate/579889/82 "2011-04-27T16:23:17Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > The original certificate that he offered is legal and binding. It is the form I got when I applied for a passport. It was accepted . They did not ask me to obtain a long form, because it was accepted as proof by the US Government. It is always accepted as proof of birth. Is that hard to follow? > Obama did not owe anyone a look at the long form. Nobody has to show that, ever. The Health Dept. will give you a copy of the short form. that is what they always do. That is what you will get when you apply for one. Obama gave legal and binding proof. Why the hell isn’t that good enough? Are you talking to me? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whitehouse-releases-obama-long-form-birth-certificate/579889/83 "2011-04-27T16:29:10Z")
> [@CurtC](#): > > Does anyone know how the White House got this copy? > > I had been hearing that the original document was not accessible to the public, that you could possibly see it if you went there in person, that it may not exist in paper form anymore, etc. Then a couple of days ago on Anderson Cooper 360, they mentioned that a person could file an FOIA request and get a copy of the document in a few weeks, but that won’t be a legal document that you can use to get a passport or take office - it would just be a copy of some document that the state has in its files. > > Did they get this through an FOIA request? A half dozen Secret Service guys showed up and made them offer they couldn’t refuse. ---
**Author:** ![Sateryn76](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Sateryn76](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sateryn76)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whitehouse-releases-obama-long-form-birth-certificate/579889/84 "2011-04-27T16:34:39Z")
> [@FlightlessBird](#): > > Well he said he released it because of the media’s attention to it rather than substantive issues. I’m not sure that’s the same as ‘I just got it’. I think this wasn’t so much an F-you to birthers and Trump, but rather to the media who said, “We know that you are American, but since so many of our viewers are interested in the subject, it’s more news-worthy than budget deficits and the future of our country.” And then he left for the Oprah show… :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whitehouse-releases-obama-long-form-birth-certificate/579889/85 "2011-04-27T16:35:03Z")
> [@CurtC](#): > > Does anyone know how the White House got this copy? > > I had been hearing that the original document was not accessible to the public, that you could possibly see it if you went there in person, that it may not exist in paper form anymore, etc. Then a couple of days ago on Anderson Cooper 360, they mentioned that a person could file an FOIA request and get a copy of the document in a few weeks, but that won’t be a legal document that you can use to get a passport or take office - it would just be a copy of some document that the state has in its files. > > Did they get this through an FOIA request? I don’t think so. Hawaii has its own regulations for birth certificates. A certificate of live birth is what is available. The “long form” archaic page in a book 😉 is something that is not available to the public. (I guess they finally made an exception…hope that doesn’t bite HI in the ass.) I don’t think FOIA applies here, since it’s a matter of privacy. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whitehouse-releases-obama-long-form-birth-certificate/579889/86 "2011-04-27T16:37:02Z")
> [@Daddypants](#): > > Trump is taking credit for the reveal. That could be part of the reason for the timing – if Trump’s ego is pumped up enough, he might stay in long enough to extend the GOP’s internal cat fight. If he were somehow to win the nomination, Obama would be up against an opponent with more baggage than an airport. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whitehouse-releases-obama-long-form-birth-certificate/579889/87 "2011-04-27T16:39:25Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > What a dumb move, he just gave an out to people like Trump to move on from an issue that would completely sink them in a general election while at the same time allowing him to claim victory. The establishment Republican leaders want to move on, but it’ll be a lot harder now that Obama threw some gasoline onto the fire – the tinfoil hat brigade is already doubling down on its conspiracy-theory nonsense, and is thus extra-primed to take out its wrath on any “RINO” who might dare step back from the cliff. ---
**Author:** ![yorick73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b5a626/32.png) [@yorick73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yorick73)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whitehouse-releases-obama-long-form-birth-certificate/579889/88 "2011-04-27T16:39:41Z")
Obama released it now just to sink Jerome Corsi’s new book before it is even released. > **[Where's the Birth Certificate?: The Case that Barack Obama is not Eligible to be...](https://www.amazon.com/Wheres-Birth-Certificate-Eligible-President/dp/1936488299)** > > Where's the Birth Certificate?: The Case that Barack Obama is not Eligible to be President \[Corsi, Jerome\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. Where's the Birth Certificate?: The Case that Barack Obama is not Eligible to be President ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whitehouse-releases-obama-long-form-birth-certificate/579889/89 "2011-04-27T16:39:45Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > None of that argument is true. The certificate Obama released in '08 is the only kind you get. Liars on the right pretended it wasn’t good enough and tried to say they needed to see the original state archive certificate, which isn’t released to the public. Again that was how I remembered the argument. > [@](#): > > No other president has given that certificate. Was any other asked to present one? > [@](#): > > The only reason Obama was called to by the nutjobs on the right is because of his unfortunate skin condition. 1 - What is this unfortunate skin condition you speak of, I assume you don’t mean dry skin, leprosy or shingles or something like that, and assume you mean skin color if so why do you call that skin color unfortunate? 2 - Why are you painting with such a broad brush, how do you know that it was just (or 'only as you put it) the ‘nutjobs on the right’ only motivation? How do you know that a right wing nutjob just wanted that this constitutional question that was brought to his attention be answered to public or legal satisfaction? How do you know that people who touted the right wing line didn’t just go along with it out of disagreements with Obama’s politics, and saw a chance to reduce his influence or get him removed? ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whitehouse-releases-obama-long-form-birth-certificate/579889/90 "2011-04-27T16:40:08Z")
[From Newsmax:](http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2004/11/30/92322.shtml) > [@](#): > > Movement Grows to OK Foreign Born Presidents > Prohibiting foreign-born Americans from occupying the White House is `hard to justify in a nation where there are so many people who have become naturalized citizens,'' said Mark V. Tushnet, a professor of constitutional law at the Georgetown University Law Center. Madeleine Albright, the former secretary of State who was born in Czechoslovakia, recently backed amending the Constitution. `We are a country of immigrants,‘’ she said. ``I think that it would be not a bad thing to try to figure out how to allow foreign-born people to become president. > > A recent CNN-USA Today-Gallup poll found that 67 percent opposed changing the Constitution to allow immigrants to be president. When half the poll sample was asked the same question with Schwarzenegger’s name, opposition dropped slightly to 58 percent. > > Proponents also must contend with the political impression that the nascent movement is being mounted for one Republican. > > Still, proponents remain optimistic that like the California recall effort that made Schwarzenegger governor, changing the Constitution might capture widespread public support. I love double standards. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whitehouse-releases-obama-long-form-birth-certificate/579889/91 "2011-04-27T16:41:06Z")
As I understand it the original release was the short-form COLB that you get when you request a copy from the state. It’s what every other Hawaiian that walks up and asks for one gets. This wasn’t good enough so Obama sent a letter to Hawaii asking them to make a copy of the long-form that is in a book. That’s why the one you’re seeing today looks like a copy out of a book - they just opened the book and copied it onto security paper and signed it saying it was a real copy. There was a black-and-white version of the long-form copy (not as neatly aligned) that was floating around today too. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whitehouse-releases-obama-long-form-birth-certificate/579889/92 "2011-04-27T16:42:15Z")
> [@Sateryn76](#): > > And then he left for the Oprah show… :rolleyes: Are you of the impression that every minute of every day is spent in meetings? Are you aware that a lot of the president’s time is taken up by speaking events? Are you aware that congress is on recess now? Are you aware that he has a staff of experts working on the subject right now? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whitehouse-releases-obama-long-form-birth-certificate/579889/93 "2011-04-27T16:45:51Z")
Thanks to Poe’s Law, I honestly can’t tell if some of the posts by **Magiver** and **magellan01** are whooshes or not. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whitehouse-releases-obama-long-form-birth-certificate/579889/94 "2011-04-27T16:51:29Z")
If only Glenn Beck would release his documentation proving he didn’t rape and kill a young woman in the 90s, then I’d be satisfied. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whitehouse-releases-obama-long-form-birth-certificate/579889/95 "2011-04-27T16:51:38Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > Again that was how I remembered the argument. Yeah, I was mentioning why said argument was silly. > [@](#): > > Was any other asked to present one? No. > [@](#): > > 1 - What is this unfortunate skin condition you speak of, I assume you don’t mean dry skin, leprosy or shingles or something like that, and assume you mean skin color if so why do you call that skin color unfortunate? It’s called humor. I apologize if you didn’t get it. NDEs can sometimes dislodge the Humor Chakra. I suggest Tantric Accupressure to reaffirm the glottal tetrions, in Jesus’ name, amen. > [@](#): > > 2 - Why are you painting with such a broad brush, how do you know that it was just (or 'only as you put it) the ‘nutjobs on the right’ only motivation? How do you know that a right wing nutjob just wanted that this constitutional question that was brought to his attention be answered to public or legal satisfaction? How do you know that people who touted the right wing line didn’t just go along with it out of disagreements with Obama’s politics, and saw a chance to reduce his influence or get him removed? No other president has had the issue brought up. So all these brave, conservative truth-seekers happen to crop up when the a black dude takes office? In any case, the birth certificate he released in 2008 is a birth certificate. Demanding he show the archival paperwork from Hawaii is simply an attempt by ignorant, angry people to paint Obama as illegitimate. Because they can’t stomach the idea that a black person is representing America as Head of State. I have no doubt that some of their number aren’t so stupid as to think Obama is actually foreign. And some of those are just being cynical and trying to rile up the hooples with no personal regard for race. A non racist attempting to stir up racial unease is still pretty bad. ---
**Author:** ![Sateryn76](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Sateryn76](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sateryn76)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whitehouse-releases-obama-long-form-birth-certificate/579889/96 "2011-04-27T16:52:03Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > Are you of the impression that every minute of every day is spent in meetings? Are you aware that a lot of the president’s time is taken up by speaking events? Are you aware that congress is on recess now? Are you aware that he has a staff of experts working on the subject right now? > > :rolleyes: Well, of course, but his shaking of his finger at “America” was a little much, seeing as he was on his way to tape a television show. I really don’t know who his PR person is - regardless of how I feel about his politics, he sure looks like a jerk/moron a lot. Not because I think he’s a jerk/moron, but his people have led him wrong in a lot of ways throughout his term. ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whitehouse-releases-obama-long-form-birth-certificate/579889/97 "2011-04-27T16:54:23Z")
**Marley,** I was saying the POTUS wasn’t one for drama. Anyway. I’m tempted to fly home just to see how well Trump is tolerated in Iowa. The GOP is a category all unto itself, sure, but I don’t see the Republican establishment in any of the major counties warming up to him. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whitehouse-releases-obama-long-form-birth-certificate/579889/98 "2011-04-27T16:55:11Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > If only Glenn Beck would release his documentation proving he didn’t rape and kill a young woman in the 90s, then I’d be satisfied. I heard that he only intended to rape her. She died accidentally because she was face down in the mud. I wish Beck would come out and let us know if he meant to kill her or not. Why won’t he address the issue? ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whitehouse-releases-obama-long-form-birth-certificate/579889/99 "2011-04-27T17:00:04Z")
> [@CurtC](#): > > Did they get this through an FOIA request? I found the answer to my question. A PDF of three letters is here: [http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/rss\_viewer/birth-certificate-correspondence.pdf](http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/rss_viewer/birth-certificate-correspondence.pdf) Just five days ago, Obama’s lawyer (with his expressed permission) asked Hawaii’s Director of Health to waive their usual policy of issuing just the short form, and give him two copies of the original paperwork from their files. HI’s Director of Health said that she has the legal authority to do so, and provided two copies. My take is that a normal person would have to use an FOIA request, but for the President they made an exception. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2011, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whitehouse-releases-obama-long-form-birth-certificate/579889/100 "2011-04-27T17:03:01Z")
> [@Sateryn76](#): > > Well, of course, but his shaking of his finger at “America” was a little much, seeing as he was on his way to tape a television show. > > I really don’t know who his PR person is - regardless of how I feel about his politics, he sure looks like a jerk/moron a lot. Not because I think he’s a jerk/moron, but his people have led him wrong in a lot of ways throughout his term. He looks like a jerk/moron for appearing on Oprah? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whitehouse-releases-obama-long-form-birth-certificate/579889.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whitehouse-releases-obama-long-form-birth-certificate/579889.md?page=6)