Posted on 06/27/2008 2:51:17 PM PDT by Red Steel
UPDATE 6/26:
Janice Okubo, in response to an Israeli Insider question on Tuesday, would not confirm nor deny whether she had told a St. Petersburg Times reporter whether she had said the birth certificate was "real", citing the statutory stipulation that "Hawaii state law (HRS §338-18) prevents disclosure of information contained in vital statistics records except to those people who have a direct and tangible interest in the record as defined by statute." This would, however, seem to negate the propriety of any disclosure by her of confidential information.
Jim Geraghty of The National Review Online, following up on this Israel Insider report, said he had contacted Okubo:
"I spoke to Ms. Okubo late Wednesday afternoon, and she said she had seen the version of Obama's certificate of live birth posted on the sites. While her office cannot verify the information on a form without the permission of the certificate holder (Obama), she said "the form is exactly the same" and it has 'all the components of a birth certificate' record issued by the state. In other words, she sees no reason to think the version posted on Obama's web site and Daily Kos is not genuine."
"The 'embossed seal' in question is, she said, probably on the back of the document provided to Daily Kos, but not visible (as in another certificate posted on Israel Insider for contrast). She thinks the difference in visibility can be attributed to the pressure used when applying the seal."
Geraghty's interpretation of Okubo's comments is inexact and tendentious. First, her observation that "the form is the same" is not contested, here or elsewhere. No one is doubting that the form that appears on the various websites (including this one) is a replica of that used for valid certificates. Therefore Geraght's interpretation that follows "In other words" is clearly his own conclusion, not hers.
Indeed, Okubo confirms to Geraghty that the image is lacking the "embossed seal" (and the official signature) that are required for the certificate to be valid. While "she thinks" that the difference in visibility might be attributed to varying "pressure," she admits that she does not know and has not seen the original.
Contrasting the purported Obama image with the DeCosta sample, it is hard to imagine the embossed seal and signature being of such light pressure that they would become completely invisible. An inked date of June 6, 2007, in reverse, does come through. But in any event, Okubo's confirmation that the premsumptive birth certificate is lacking the required stamps makes it all the more imperative for Obama to release the original paper certification, the only valid kind, and not an easy-to-photoshop electronic facsimile thereof. It should not be hard to produce, since Hawaii provides for family members to request them.
Even though Geraghy notes that Obama "initially refused to provide his birth certificate," he has suggested that it is "rather unlikely" that Obama was born in Kenya, since it would require that the candidate and his family do a lot of lying. In fact, there were reports of Kenyati relatives claiming he was born there, and there is the mysterious disappearance of his grandmother, who may indeed know something about this subject.
After all, being born in Hawaii is part of the "family legend" and it would be unreasonable to expect this to vary from interview to interview, especially when a non-Hawaiian birth would invalidate Obama's run for the presidency.
It is indeed hard to believe that Obama could have gone through his life without having to prove that he was an American citizen. But the credulity with which the mainstream media has automatically accepted as valid the image that appears on the radical left Daily Kos blog and on the Obama campaign's polemical "Fight the Smears" website makes it clear that many have been unwilling, now and in the past, to demand proof of an authentic document. They prefer to accept on faith that the candidate or his campaign would not lie about such a thing, assuming he has nothing to hide and no motive to lie.
But until the certified paper birth document is produced -- either by media pressure or a legal challenge in any state -- the fact remains that Obama has not proven that he is a "natural born citizen" eligible to be President according to the Constitution.
Get the high-res image and use a program that allows various zoom levels. You can see it faintly at a mid-level, and then at high zoom, you can see some of the ridges (that you don’t see elsewhere on the document).
Doesn’t mean it’s real...it could be a photoshopped certificate from someone else, for example, but I think that running that route is just going to lead to disappointment.
If the Obama people say it's there, all they have to do is reimage the certifying marking and signature and place it online for inspection.
If the embossing is light, they could smear pencil lead on it to make it clearer for inspection. And furthermore, where is the official signature?
They are either deceptive or incompetent or both.
Try zooming out and squinting a little.
Do Liberals have integrity?
If there is the slightest suggestion of citizenship the people of this nation have the right to question and to have their question answered.
If Obama is ineligible for the presidency, we must demand proof and he must provide it.
Think about the audacity of this man running for president when he is daring us to accept his legitimacy.
Who wants that as a leader?
It would be a simple matter for him to put the issue to rest - I don’t see him attempting that solution ....
Something very wrong here.
Thanks for the feedback.
Shermy and a few others have mentioned the possibility of someone in the office where these copies come from, provided a copy to Hussein ObamaMessiaHamas’s computer thugs who made the illegal copy, claiming to be the real thing.
Where is Hillary when we need her!
Yes, a possibility. Someone in that office could have sent by email the Obamas blank forms with captions.
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