Sorry to disappoint those who think this blog is dedicated to slamming our President. The title of this post would indicate that sometimes (rarely-but it happens) Barack Obama hits the political equivalent of a triple (never a home run, but close.)
He did it yesterday, when he issued the long form of his birth certificate. And he never should have had to do it.
Obama has made enough gaffes (one of which I'll talk about tomorrow,) so when he actually does the right thing it should be noted by those of us who have a hard time envisioning four more years of socialism in disguise.
The uncomfortable fact is that the first time a president's alienage has been questioned is, not coincidentally, the first time we have a president who's not white. Or at least, not completely white. My research, which is admittedly limited to google searches, has not turned up any other instance where an elected commander in chief has been called an 'illegal alien.'
I never throw around charges of racism lightly. I abhor the race card, and think that those who play it are scoundrels and malcontents (not to mention idiots.) But I have a hard time believing that if John McCain, who was born in the Panama Canal zone, had been elected (if only!!!) we'd still have Donald Trump out there demanding his long form birth certificate.
It could also simply be a case of allowing your personal distaste for the man (to which I'm not insensitive) persuade you that a seriously defective theory has validity.
I'd like to be proven wrong. Hopefully, someone will give it a shot on this blog. I'm open for debate.
But the real reason I'm angry about this whole affair is how it gives liberals the opportunity to point their fingers at conservatives and paint us all as crazy, xenophobic wack-jobs (just to quote from my own inbox) who have nothing better to do than parse the phrase 'natural born.' It allows some self-satisfied editors to say "I told you so" and "Shut up" as they smirk at the keyboard.
I would point out that if Obama had turned out not to be a natural born citizen, those same editors would have sought an amendment to the Constitution allowing him to serve. For some in the fourth estate, the man never did a thing they didn't celebrate (except, maybe, his refusal to bomb Gitmo and his foot-dragging on Don't Ask, Don't Tell.)
But, unpleasant as it is to admit, they are right. In this one, narrow instance.
So to Donald Trump and the rest who were clamoring for the certificate: Please, now, focus on defeating the natural born citizen on his policies. There's more than enough there to work with.