Why, oh why is this whole birth certificate thing such a big deal? President Obama's staff even provided a copy of his birth certificate in 2008. Maybe the problem is that he was born in Hawaii. I remember when I first moved to Illinois and started teaching. There were some parents who marveled at the fact that I spoke English. Even my principal was happy that I "spoke good English." They actually asked me if we used American money in Hawaii. Several parents thought I had to be an ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher. Sigh... And yet it's OK that they asked so that I could correct their misinformation.
One of the first things I taught my class was the fact that Hawaii is the 50th state. We speak English even though it may sometimes sound more like pidgin. We live in homes sort of similar to California or Florida. We don't live in grass shacks. We wear American type clothes; granted mostly shorts and t-shirts. Gracious! We even eat Costco hotdogs! I don't much care for poi although Art loves it.
I saw this information on FactCheck.org:
"Recently FactCheck representatives got a chance to spend some time with the birth certificate, and we can attest to the fact that it is real and three-dimensional and resides at the Obama headquarters in Chicago. We can assure readers that the certificate does bear a raised seal, and that it's stamped on the back by Hawaii state registrar Alvin T. Onaka (who uses a signature stamp rather than signing individual birth certificates). We even brought home a few photographs."
So yes! President Obama IS American even though (BECAUSE) he was born in Hawaii... just like me. OK. Enough! Birthers out there, would you just be quiet and sit down already?
