Obama document still doesn't answer all questions

The White House called it "proof positive" and the governor of Hawaii said further questions about Barack Obama's birth story would be "an insult."

But the facts remain that the release by the president of a "Certificate of Live Birth" from the state of Hawaii still doesn't answer all of the questions about his eligibility.

For one thing, there are experts – and lawsuits – that have argued he isn't eligible under the Constitution's demand that the occupant of the Oval Office be a "natural born Citizen" because the understanding at the time of the nation's founding was that that meant a citizen offspring of two citizen parents.

Under that, Obama would have been disqualified at the outset, since in his own writings he's confessed that his father was a Kenyan national subject to the governance of the United Kingdom when he was born.

But the document that was released leaves many more unanswered questions:

Released by the White House

Among the unexplained is how the green background appears so seamless, given that this is supposed to be a copy of an original 1961 document in a bound volume in Hawaii.

According to the Smoking Gun, there also are questions about:

The doctor who signed the document – "conveniently unavailable to answer questions" since he died several years ago.
The date of acceptance on the document, four days after the birth on Aug. 4.
What about a "mysterious number" seen on the right side of the document.
The apparent spelling of the local registrar's name as "Ukulele."
The mysterious X marks above "Twin" and "Triplet" on the document.
Where are the birth weight, length and footprint images often found on original birth certificates?

Whatever the answers to the questions, Matt Patterson wrote in a commentary at the Washington Times that the situation is a loss for Obama.

"No matter how the White House tries to spin this, President Obama has been deeply damaged by this birth-certificate mess, damage that is entirely self-inflicted. If his long-form birth certificate was available to the president all along, why on earth did he not release it years ago? Instead, he stonewalled just enough for the whole matter to appear suspicious to large numbers of Americans, leaving a perfect opening for a skilled opportunist like Donald Trump, who has played the president like a well-worn violin.

"Mr. Obama may have at last deflated the issue once and for all, but by waiting so long to do so, he also has raised disturbing questions about his character and judgment. How is that not a defeat?"

The state of Hawaii issued a lengthy statement explaining how the document was released to a representative of the president at his request. The state created an "exception" to its standard procedures in order to accommodate Obama.

Gov. Neil Abercrombie, who earlier had promised to release the documentation but failed, chastised those who were not ready to accept the government's statement about the birth at face value.

"Considering all of the investigations that have been done and the information that has been provided, no rational person can question the president's citizenship. We have found a way – once again – to confirm what we already knew: the president was born here in Hawaii. State officials of both parties have verified that President Obama's birth records show that he was born in Honolulu," he said.

He completely ignored that the Constitution's requirement for presidents is not "citizenship," but to be a "natural born Citizen."

He further said it's time for people to forget their doubts.

"President Obama's mother and father were dear friends of mine, and we must respect their memory. It is an insult to the president, his parents and to the office to suggest that he was not born in Hawaii. The State of Hawaii has done everything within our legal ability to disabuse these conspiracy theorists. We granted the president's request for certified copies of his birth certificate so we can all move on from this unfortunate distraction and focus on the real issues affecting people today."

The statement also included comments from Department of Health Director Loretta Fuddy that she has "seen the original records filed at the Department of Health and attest to the authenticity of the certified copies the department provided to the president that further prove the fact that he was born in Hawaii."

Again, the officials declined to address the issue of "natural born Citizen," as required by the Constitution, addressing only an issue of a birth in Hawaii.

Numerous bloggers and Web fans immediately claimed the document a fraud because of the "layers" embedded in the .pdf file, including this critic who said it wasn't real:

Whether there had been manipulation or the layers simply were a result of the process of computer imaging wasn't confirmed.

But the document also failed to pull back the curtain on:

Why the certificate is out of sequence with other birth certificates from the same hospital at the same time.
What was the impact on the Hawaii birth certificate when he moved to Indonesia as a child and reportedly was adopted by an Indonesia man.
On what nation's passport did he travel to Kenya as a student.
Who gave Obama scholarships to attend Occidental, Columbia and Harvard.
What about other still-withheld documentation such as his passport records, kindergarten records, Punahou school records, Occidental College records, Columbia University records, Columbia thesis, Harvard Law School records, Harvard Law Review articles, University of Chicago articles, Illinois State Bar Association records, Illinois State Senate records and schedules, medical records, Obama/Dunham marriage license, Obama/Dunham divorce documents, Soetoro/Dunham marriage license and adoption records.
What about his use of a Connecticut-based Social Security number when he had no connection to the state?
Was "African" really used to identify race?

"Amazing that as soon as Hawaii says it won't issue long form birth certificates,
the president suddenly comes up with one ... Something fishy going on again," wrote one WND reader.