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Chris Matthews: Why Doesn't Obama Demand A Copy Of His Birth Certificate? (VIDEO)

Chrismatthews

First Posted: 12/28/10 02:02 AM ET Updated: 05/25/11 07:20 PM ET

Chris Matthews waded into the birther controversy on his Monday show, wondering why President Obama has not demanded a copy of his full birth certificate to put the conspiracy theories about his birth to rest.

Speaking to Chicago Tribune columnist Clarence Page and Mother Jones reporter David Corn, Matthews addressed the recent efforts by Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie to release more information about Obama's birth.

"I am not a birther, I am an enemy of the birthers," Matthews assured Page and Corn, before comparing a so-called "long form" birth certificate to the more abridged copy that Obama has released. "Why has the president himself not demanded that they put out the initial documents?" he asked.

Page said there was no point in Obama engaging birthers, because they were not interested in evidence showing that he is a natural-born citizen. Matthews responded that, no matter what, it will be interesting to see if Abercrombie's quest for the full document is successful.

"Don't we want to know if he can find it?" he said. "I don't know why the Governor doesn't say, 'snap it up, whoever is there in the Department of Records, send me a copy right now.' And why doesn't the president just say, 'send me a copy right now'?"

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Chris Matthews waded into the birther controversy on his Monday show, wondering why President Obama has not demanded a copy of his full birth certificate to put the conspiracy theories about his birth...
Chris Matthews waded into the birther controversy on his Monday show, wondering why President Obama has not demanded a copy of his full birth certificate to put the conspiracy theories about his birth...
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01:54 PM on 02/16/2011
Have there been any updates to this extremely disturbing situation? Any at all? Surely after setting out to produce this certificate, in such a public and flamboyant manner, Abercrombie could show it and put all those cra_zy, cra_zy, cra_zy "birthers" in their place.

He sounded so certain that it existed. Why hasn't he produced it yet? No wonder most Americans believe Obama wasn't born in Hawaii, when we are promised our constitutional right of truth and get nothing.

Because of this, I no longer blame any American who has doubts. It's all so very sad and disturbing.
07:09 PM on 01/21/2011
My comment regarding this controversy is why doesn't the President of the United States release his original certificate to the people of America since we elected him in office? If he doesn't release his certificate anytime soon, wouldn't that cause more suspicious on his part, especially when it may hurt his presidential re-election in 2012. Remember 43% of Americans either think he was born in another country or are not sure. Furthermore, if the Gov. of Hawii can't find his birth certificate, wouldn't that raise more suspicous and cause future uprising negative numbers in the polls which can diffidently hurt his presidential 2012 election.
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TeaLady005
10:32 AM on 01/19/2011
Follow up--Have you noticed the Hawaii governor has been silent since announcing he was going to end the controversy by releasing the long form birth certificate? Well now it appears he and Hawaii state officials are unable to locate it, even after the previous governor said it was locked away in a state vault.
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=252833
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Quinny
My micro-bio has been seized by the Feds
02:46 AM on 01/19/2011
1/18/11....."Hawaii's Governor cannot find Obama's
long form birth certificate...."

Drudgereport.com
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Quinny
My micro-bio has been seized by the Feds
01:28 AM on 01/19/2011
This just in....

"Hawaii's Governor cannot find Obama's
long form birth certificate...."

Drudgereport.com 1/18/11

Sleep Tight America...
01:36 AM on 01/12/2011
You libs are truly hilarious ! Your brainwashed minds have become so hynotized into believing that Obama is a natural born citizen to the point that you desire to hide the proof that would reveal that you are right !!! Unbelievable ! All the comments on this board would in an instant become totally unnecessary just by one very simple act of releasing the Birth Certificate. Why hasn't Abercrombie done it? He said he would! Why hasn't the Obamassiah done it himself? Are you going to try and tell me that you can't get a copy OF YOUR OWN BIRTH CERTIFICATE ? One poster said "if its legal for him to get it" !!! hahahahhahaha !!!!!!!! Illegal to get your own birth certificate ??? How old are you? Let me challenge each and every poster here ~ If it is TURTH, then SHOW IT, what have you to fear ????? If someone accused me of not having served in the U.S. military, I would pull out my DD214 form as proof of service and end the debate right there and then. If you are so right, you should WANT to show the proof to silence your critics. But YOU'RE AFRAID TO! Because you may have to face the fact that you were wrong !!! AND YOU CAN'T DO IT !!!! The real truth is that you all CANNOT RISK THE CHANCE THAT YOU MAY JUST ONCE IN YOUR LIVES ACTUALLY BE WRONG !!! And THATS the bottom line !!!!!
08:24 PM on 01/06/2011
A perfectly legal copy of the President's birth record has been provided- why should anyone require anything more?
People who refuse to accept this record are unlikely to accept any- they just refuse to accept President Obama. It is unfortunate that there are those who hate so much- who have so much prejudice- so little fairness, but there it is.
I do not believe that the President needs to do anything. Possibly these birthers could go to Hawaii and research the public records if they wish- go back to the old birth announcements- do whatever they want- because they can never prove a falsehood. The President was born in Hawaii. It is a matter of public record. He has an American passport. He is an American citizen. Anyone who denies this fact is just plain evil frankly.
01:29 PM on 01/19/2011
Don't look now, but even the Hawaii Gov. can't find the BC.... http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=252833
There's a pretty good explanation of what all the forms are, and their relevance.
The only irrefutable proof that he is a Natural born American is the Birth Cert... which so far, can't be found.
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Quinny
My micro-bio has been seized by the Feds
02:04 AM on 01/05/2011
Hey Moderators,
Still smoking the "Hopium" I take it? Have you ever heard
the expression, "The truth does not fear investigation"? No..? I didn't
think so.....

Selah
Quinny
11:19 PM on 01/04/2011
Is there something in the birther conspiracies theories not addressed here?

TITLE 8, CHAPTER 12, SUBCHAPTER III, Part I, Sec. 1401. (1965) (excerpt)

"The following shall be nationals and citizens of the United States at birth:

(a) ... (g)

(h) a person born before noon (Eastern Standard Time) May 24, 1934, outside the limits and jurisdiction of the United States of an alien father and a mother who is a citizen of the United States who, prior to the birth of such person, had resided in the United States."
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Quinny
My micro-bio has been seized by the Feds
11:48 PM on 01/05/2011
I have tried to post an answer to you questions 3 separate times,
but the moderators will not allow it. There is a writer by the name of
Diana West who has covered that subject in one of her columns.
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SallieParker
07:11 PM on 01/06/2011
You mean it ended in 1934?
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donnabella
someday, my prints will come . . .
07:30 PM on 01/02/2011
My original, hand-written, long form birth certificate from a Kansas hospital, circa 1959, is titled "CERTIFICATE OF LIVE BIRTH," not "BIRTH CERTIFICATE." Since my certificate's titled other than "birth certificate," does that mean I'm not a natural born citizen? Hail no! I'm a natural born citizen regardless of what a TPer might say.

As far as I've been able to discern, no standard federal format exists for such certificates, meaning it's up to every state to determine what such forms look like, let alone contain.
01:32 PM on 01/19/2011
You've hit the nail on the head, in that it is up to the state to determine its forms. And KS is not Hawaii, nor are the forms interchangeable.
Problem is, the Hawaii Gov. can't find the BC... and that really IS a big deal.
Clevelandinwi
Progressive is good; regressive, not so much.
07:31 AM on 01/02/2011
This is how the corporate media works; KEEP IT ALIVE !! Good job, mathews - your check is in the mail!
Clevelandinwi
Progressive is good; regressive, not so much.
07:30 AM on 01/02/2011
Need attention, Chris? Wow, you really should just shut up! I have one question: Who is his mother? Can that be answered?
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SallieParker
07:24 PM on 01/06/2011
Nobody knows who his mother was, and that is not the question here. If you like, he could be the offspring of old Stanley and some black doxy, but that doesn't matter here: that birth is still valid.

People keep trying to derail the question by denouncing some strawman phony theory that Obama was born in Kenya. That is not and never was the issue.

Can you blame him for not wanting to hide his BC? Really.
09:54 PM on 01/19/2011
Huh? Her name was Stanley. tee hee
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Danielle Burke
philosophical anarchist/ voluntaryist
03:16 AM on 01/02/2011
"He says if he legally can, he will release the long form birth certificate. He addressed the fact that he knows there are some states that are trying to keep Obama off of ballots unless he produces the birth certificate, and doesn't want that to happen even if the White House doesn't want him to release it."

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/content.php?163-CNN-Hawaii-Gov.-tries-to-end-birther-debate-once-and-for-all
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SallieParker
07:12 PM on 01/06/2011
'If he legally can'?
12:50 AM on 01/02/2011
StephenS says
"The long form is not mythical, as you should know, since yesterday you replied to my post on it."

LeftRight replies
"The longform IS mythical because the state DOES NOT RELEASE IT!


Thank you LeftRight - it is good to know that if barry suporters have intellect as displayed above in his corner, his opponents have nothing to be concerned about.

StephenS 03:33 PM on 12/30/2010 5 Fans
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The long form is not mythical, as you should know, since yesterday you replied to my post on it. Why did you post that?

The Hawaii Dept. of Health Director put out a press release 2 years ago that she and the Registrar of Vital Statistics had seen the original and it's on file.

Of course, releasing it would not satisfy the most hardcore of the birthers..­.
Favorite (0) Flag as Abusive StephenS: The long form is not mythical, as you should know,
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/StephenS/chris-matthews-obama-birthers_n_801818_72276029.html
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LeftRight 05:16 PM on 12/31/2010 542 Fans
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the long form IS mythical because the state DOES NOT RELEASE IT!
Favorite (0) Flag as Abusive LeftRight: the long form IS mythical because the state DOES NOT
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/LeftRight/chris-matthews-obama-birthers_n_801818_72371906.html
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EmmaDarian
All in all, I'm loving every rise and fall (RHCP)
08:08 AM on 01/02/2011
You can sling insults all you want, but the state of Hawaii says this:

"When we spoke to a spokeswoman for the Hawaii Department of Health, she said too much was being made of the difference between the so-called "long" and "short" forms.

"They're just words," said spokeswoman Janice Okubo. "That (what was posted on the Internet) is considered a birth certificate from the state of Hawaii."

"There's only one form of birth certificate," she said, and it's been the same since the 1980s. Birth certificates evolve over the decades, she said, and there are no doubt differences between the way birth certificates looked when Obama was born and now.

"When you request a birth certificate, the one you get looks exactly like the one posted on his site," she said. "That's the birth certificate."

As for the theory that Obama's original birth certificate might show he was foreign-born, Okubo said the "Certification of Live Birth" would say so. Obama's does not. Again, it says he was born in Honolulu. "

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2009/jul/01/obamas-birth-certificate-final-chapter-time-we-mea/

There is a lot more information, a lot more evidence that President Obama was born in Hawaii, and a lot more confirmation from state of Hawaii officials. Anyone who doesn't believe is never going to.
01:37 PM on 01/19/2011
You may be correct, but 70 percent of the US says they at least "Don't know" if Obama was born in Hawaii. Now, the new Gov., who said he was going to find it, and put this matter to rest, can't find it! http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=252833
Do you think this is a problem?
09:56 PM on 01/19/2011
The Governor of Hawaii just said he can't find it. What part of that sentence don't you understand?
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skibum49
12:17 AM on 01/02/2011
For those like quinny that keep spouting this nonsense about Obamas Kenya grandmother saying he was born in Kenya.

You really need to keep up on the conspiracy theory status. The interview in question was edited from the original 13 minutes to 5 minutes. However the original tape recording still existed and Ron McRae (the guy who did the interview) finally released it. Listen to the COMPLETE interview and read the COMPLETE transcript and its clear grandma Sarah knew exactly where obama was born and it wasnt kenya. First link is transcript and second is the audio.

http://tin­yurl.com/l­n73ul

http://tin­yurl.com/o­2da39
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Quinny
My micro-bio has been seized by the Feds
07:47 PM on 01/02/2011
Too bad that wasn't the "interview" I was referring...here, check this out:

Google: Diana West The Case Against Obama

Read it, THEN get back to me...