'Doonesbury' pokes fun at constitutional question

Prize-winning cartoonist Garry Trudeau, creator of "Doonesbury," is poking fun at the constitutional question over Barack Obama's eligibility to be president, based on questions about whether he qualifies under the Constitution's requirement that the president be only a "natural born" citizen.

In a series of recent panels, Trudeau, who earlier created controversy by ridiculing the pro-life movement, calling Condoleezza Rice "brown sugar" and listing the names of Iraqi war victims in his cartoons, also noted it's not a "wacko" issue because it's been discussed on CNN.

The commentaries have said:

One panel confirms 58 percent of Republicans say they are not sure if Obama was "born here."

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movie Obama does not want you to see: Own the DVD that probes this unprecedented
presidential eligibility mystery!

"Hang on brother, Did Jesus ever have to produce a birth certificate to establish his standing?" he asks.

"No, no. Not as far as we know. Though that'd be a pretty impressive document, wouldn't it?"

"Assuming it wasn't fake."

In another the conversation revolves around a real plan, H.R. 1503, by Rep. Bill Posey, that would require future presidents to document their constitutional eligibility.

"What's the end game, brother?" he writes.

"To flush Obama out, to delegitimize his presidency by proving he was born in Kenya."

"So it's not some wacko conspiracy theory."

"No, it's being discussed on CNN."

Another references Pol Pot and Hitler.

"Would Jesus introduce a birther bill? Would Mao, or Pol Pot? Or Hitler. No? Okay, maybe Hitler would."

The cartoons appear to poke fun at those who have questioned Obama's eligibility – there have been dozens of lawsuits filed over the dispute – as well as those who support Obama.

In one panel, those ridiculing "birthers" tell the sponsors of H.R. 1503 of their opposition. The results? "What did they say? That we look like nuts."

Trudeau launched Doonesbury in 1970 and it now appears in hundreds of newspapers. He was given the 1975 Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning.

Earlier in his career he produced a series of strips mocking the pro-life movement and in 2004 labeled Condoleezza Rice as "brown sugar."

To date, President Obama has refused to release his long-form, hospital-generated birth certificate, which would include details including the name of his birth hospital and attending physician, both of which could be a starting point in determining his eligibility for office.

His press secretary has only mentioned the release "on the Internet" of an image puporting to be a "Certification of Live Birth," a document without such names, and which can be issued to children not even born in Hawaii.

WND has also
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.

Additionally, the president may be using his political action committee funds to stomp out
eligibility lawsuits brought by Americans, as he has paid more than $1.35
million to his top lawyer since the election.