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BORN IN THE USA? New poll shows birthers growingMajority of GOP, Southerners question president's birthplacePosted: August 01, 2009 12:40 am Eastern By Drew Zahn
The Daily Kos, which calls itself "the largest progressive community blog in the United States," nonetheless found a reported 527 Republicans and 601 independents to accompany its 743 Democrats in answering the question. Among Republicans, 28 percent answered they believe Obama was born outside the U.S., while 30 percent answered "not sure." Among independents, 83 percent affirmed their belief that the president was born in the U.S., while an overwhelming 93 percent of Democrats insisted it is so. While the disparity between Republicans and Democrats is massive, the poll also demonstrated that where respondents live also makes a significant difference. (Story continues below) According to the website's fine print, "A total of 2,400 adults nationally were interviewed by telephone. A cross-section of calls was made into each state in the country in order to reflect the adult population nationally." Of those respondents living in the West, Midwest and Northeast, 87, 90 and 93 percent, respectively, affirmed they believe Obama was born in the U.S. In the South, however – a region defined to include the states of Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Louisiana, Arkansas and Texas – fewer than half have accepted the president's claimed birth in the U.S. Only 47 percent of the South's respondents answered the question "yes," while 23 percent answered they believed Obama was born on foreign soil, while 30 percent were unsure of his birthplace. Robert Schlesinger, author of the Thomas Jefferson Street blog on the U.S. News & World Report website, commented on the regional disparity: "Dixie may once have been the so-called land of cotton," Schlesinger writes, "but it has become the cradle of creeping Birtherism." With all categories and regions combined, the Daily Kos reported 77 percent believe Obama was born in the U.S., while 12 percent were unsure. The website then offered the following commentary on the remaining 11 percent of respondents, who answered they believe Obama was born abroad: "11 percent of Americans are Obama-hating conspiracy theorists," writes the blog's founder, Markos Moulitsas Zúniga. Schlesinger offered a different summary. "I had assumed that the Birthers were a loud, bemusing hyper-minority in the GOP, so the poll numbers are startling both for the region and for the party," he writes. WND has produced hundreds of stories reporting on dozens of legal challenges to Obama's status as a "natural born citizen" and other issues. The Constitution, Article 2, Section 1, states, "No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President." Some of the challenges question whether he was actually born in Hawaii, as he insists. If he was born out of the country, Obama's American mother, the suits contend, was too young at the time of his birth to confer American citizenship to her son under the law at the time. Other challenges have focused on Obama's citizenship through his father, a Kenyan subject to the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom at the time of his birth, thus making him a dual citizen. The cases contend the framers of the Constitution excluded dual citizens from qualifying as natural born. Additionally, questions have been raised about Obama's move to Indonesia as a child and the passort he used to travel to Pakistan as a young man. Complicating the situation is Obama's decision to spend sums estimated in the hundreds of thousands of dollars to avoid releasing a state birth certificate and other documentation. Obama's birth certificate is not the only document at issue. WND has reported that among the documentation not yet available for Obama includes his kindergarten records, his Punahou school records, his Occidental College records, his Columbia University records, his Columbia thesis, his Harvard Law School records, his Harvard Law Review articles, his scholarly articles from the University of Chicago, his passport, his medical records, his files from his years as an Illinois state senator, his Illinois State Bar Association records, any baptism records and his adoption records. The question over Obama's eligibility now also is being raised on billboards nationwide.
The billboard campaign follows an ongoing petition campaign launched several months ago by WND Editor and Chief Executive Officer Joseph Farah. The billboards are intended to raise public awareness of the fact that Obama has never released the standard "long-form" birth certificate that would show which hospital he was born in, the attending physician and establish that he truly was born in Hawaii, as his autobiography maintains. The "Certification of Live Birth" posted online and widely touted as "Obama's birth certificate" does not in any way prove he was born in Hawaii, since the same "short-form" document is easily obtainable for children not born in Hawaii. The true "long-form" birth certificate – which includes information such as the name of the birth hospital and attending physician – is the only document that can prove Obama was born in Hawaii, but to date he has not permitted its release for public or press scrutiny. Oddly, though congressional hearings were held to determine whether Sen. John McCain was constitutionally eligible to be president as a "natural born citizen," no controlling legal authority ever sought to verify Obama's claim to a Hawaiian birth. Although Obama officials have told WND all such allegations are "garbage," here is a partial listing and status update for some of the cases over Obama's eligibility:
In addition, other cases cited on the RightSideofLife blog as raising questions about Obama's eligibility include:
Note: Members of the news media wishing to interview Drew Zahn, Jerome Corsi, Joseph Farah, Joe Kovacs, Chelsea Schilling, Les Kinsolving or Bob Unruh on this issue, please contact WND.
Related offers: Get the most comprehensive special report ever produced on the Obama eligibility issue.
Previous stories: Guess how many ways to get Hawaii 'birth certificate' Vanished: Obama exposer disappears off Net Unveiled! Hawaii's 1961 long-form birth certificates New doubts revealed in Obama's nativity story Left rises to squash CNN's Lou Dobbs Hawaiian newspapers don't prove birthplace 'Birth hospital': Letter for real Lib talker, Lou Dobbs now asking eligibility questions Pentagon orders soldier fired for challenging prez Bombshell: Orders revoked for soldier challenging prez Now White House joins 'birth hospital' cover-up Soldier won't serve without proof Obama eligible Wikipedia says Obama born in Kenya Just who delivered baby Barack Obama? Obama's 'birth hospital' in astonishing cover-up New reports cite Obama's African 'home' Obama's birth letter: Is this thing for real? U.S. hospitals 'wouldn't have to disclose Hitler' News sites swap Obama's birthplace like magic Obama birth mystery: More than 1 hospital Hospital won't back Obama birth claim THE FULL STORY: See listing of more than 200 exclusive WND reports on the eligibility issue
Drew Zahn is a news editor for WorldNetDaily.
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