I guess there is a rumor floating around the Internets that Barack Obama was not born in the United States. Some have been demanding to see a copy of his birth certificate. Why people have been saying that he was born somewhere other then the United States is unknown. The fact is that Barack Obama was born in Hawaii. Technically, that is in fact part of the United States.
Markos Moulitsas over at Daily Kos posted a copy of something he claims is Obama’s birth certificate. He writes:
In any case, here is Obama’s birth certificate. Click on it for a bigger version. Note, I have trimmed the edges of the scan, so before someone tries to inevitably “debunk” this based on the dimensions of a Hawaiian birth certificate, that should be noted.
Whatever this is, it’s not a birth certificate. It’s something called a Certification of Live Birth. A birth certificate is something issued at the time of birth. I don’t think even Dan Rather would think this form was issued in 1961. It looks too modern. It’s printed on anti-tamper paper and the bottom left corner states OHSM 1.1 (Rev. 11/01) LASER.
Normally something like that would mean that it’s a form last revised in November, 2001 and it’s printed with a laser printer.
A birth certificate normally has a signature from the attending physician. It also usually includes things such as weight and length. It normally also includes the name of the hospital where the child was born. More importantly, it has a raised stamp showing that the birth certificate is legit.
This doesn’t have any of those things.
I think it’s silly to argue that Barack Obama wasn’t born in the United States. I also think it’s kind of silly to present this document as an actual birth certificate. Personally, I think we’ve had enough silly in this presidential campaign.
Update: It’s not just Kos that is claiming this is a birth certificate. The Obama campaign is also claiming this is the birth certificate.
