The anti-climactic resolution of the “birther” controversy reflected poorly on all parties to this inane dispute. Obama fans treated the release of his original birth certificate as a triumph, but the president only acted after a significant percentage of his fellow citizens expressed doubts about his own accounts of his origins.
Moreover, the ease with which Obama finally addressed these concerns raises a question as to why he waited so long to do so? He seemed to manipulate the issue to distract and agitate his critics, while irresponsible demagogues – including the blow-dried blowhard, Donald Trump – kept pushing ridiculous theories despite lack of any evidence that the president was born in Kenya. Yes, many decent, patriotic people came to take such charges seriously, but that just makes the quarrel even more shameful, with plenty of blame to go around.