Obama "Natural Born" Case Still Alive, Oddly Enough

An Obama "Ticking Time Bomb" from the fringes is not only still ticking, but getting more attention: is he a Natural Born Citizen? Summary: Obama has only posted a birth certification, not a certificate, and it may be a forgery or at least modified. A suit was filed by a Hillary supporter with evidence Obama was born in Kenya, and it was dismissed for standing, not on the merits - as a mere citizen he may lack it. Yesterday Hawaii officials confirmed that they have a birth certificate, but refused to release it. Today we hear that a Vice Presidential candidate from a minor party filed suit - he may have standing. A hearing in Hawaii is still on, for after the election. Tick tick tick ..

A Hillary supporter and long-time Democrat, Phil Berg, filed suit claiming Barack is not Constitutionally qualified to be President. He claims to have a birth certificate from Kenya and testimony from Obama's Kenyan half-relatives that the mother was too pregnant to fly, so the baby was born and then she left for Hawaii. The case has been dismissed, and dismissed again on appeal to the Third Circuit. Now it is off to the Supreme Court. They are likely to duck. Reason: that a mere citizen lacks standing.

Today one of the minor party candidates filed suit, joined by some Electors. He is not a mere citizen, but he too may lack standing. It is quite likely John McCainJohn McCain would have standing, since he stands to win or lose; possibly a minor party Presidential candidate has it as well, although even if Obama is disqualified, the minor party candidate is unlikely to win. But can the law come to that conclusion prior to the vote? In this case, however, the plaintiff is the vice presidential candidate not the top of the ticket.

Obama could easily cure the claim with a valid birth certificate, but instead he has produced only a Certification of Live Birth, not a Certificate of Live Birth. The Certification is a computer-generated form that is issued when no Certificate can be found, and requires additional verification for certain purposes, although a member of the Hawaiian office says it can be used to show citizenship. But that doss not prove he was a natural born citizen, since Hawaiian law allows issuance of a birth certificate for children born out of the State if the parents declare it as their residency.

Is the purported Obama Certification real? An oddity of the certification is listing the race of the father as "African." In 1961, the choice would have been "Negro." There are a number of analyses of the certification that point out it is a fake. The most comprehensive analysis is here with an update here and a series of detailed posts on this site, plus context and a summary of the findings.

Yesterday the head of the Hawaii Dept. of Health said she had conferred with registrar of vital records and they confirm a birth certificate, but did not release it.

Chiyome Fukino said "I as Director of Health for the State of Hawaii, along with the Registrar of Vital Statistics who has statutory authority to oversee and maintain these type of vital records, have personally seen and verified that the Hawaii State Department of Health has Senator ObamaSenator Obama's original birth certificate on record in accordance with state policies and procedures. No state official, including Governor Linda LingleLinda Lingle, has ever instructed that this vital record be handled in a manner different from any other vital record in the possession of the State of Hawaii."

This does not substantiate the certification that Obama has released, and indeed calls it into question. Why not release the real certificate, unless there is something in it he needs to suppress?

The blogosphere is ripe with speculation - and that is part of the problem, because the arguments are so over the map that the soundness of this whole debate is called into question. Andy Martin, the gadfly who outed this admission, believes it will show that Frank Marshall Davis is the real father - Uncle Frank in Obama's first book. Another blogger believes it does not prove that Obama was born in Hawaii, since Hawaii allows a certificate to be issued for people born out of state, as noted above. A third and fairly careful blogger believes they are suppressing the adoption of Obama by his Indonesian father, which would potnetially disqualify him. The most intriguing information is in a comment to that blog that adds this:

What they didn't explain is what is in BOX 7C of this record. Original Hawaiian Birth Certificates had a funny thing on them in the 1960s. It allowed for births OUTSIDE Hawaii to be registered IN Hawaii. "BOX 7C" on an Original Birth Certificate says "County and State or Foreign Country" of birth. - source: http://www.cusc.org

In any event, you would think that a matter of this importance would not be suppressed. Obama is now in a pickle, because if the real certificate does not substantiate the certification he posted, then he is caught in a fraud. Apparently the Andy Martin case goes to a hearing on Nov 18 in Hawaii, so we might find out - after the election. Imagine the Constitutional Quagmire that would result if a candidate is found to be unqualified after elected but before the Electoral College votes on Dec 10, or before he is sworn in on Jan 20, or after!

For those who think this is all a technicality, consider that the purpose of the Natural Born clause is to ensure a singular loyalty to the United States. Dual or in Obama's case possibly triple citizenship (US, Indonesia and Kenya) calls this into question. And if he perpetrated this fraud knowingly, his $600M or more of campaign contributions would have been raised fraudulently, and could be asked to be returned.