Fox News is reporting that the White House has released President Obama’s long-form birth certificate. He’s expected to make a public statement at 9:45 a.m.
Two quick questions, first, why now? And second, will this put end to the birther movement and Donald Trump’s circus sideshow not quite presidential campaign?
Updates as warranted.
Update: Fox News just updated their story to include the following:
White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer said the administration decided to release the full document in response to mounting questions about the president’s birth. He noted that what started as Internet chatter had moved into the national political debate and ended up being discussed regularly on mainstream news outlets.
That answers the first question, I guess Donald Trump made enough noise that they couldn’t ignore questions about President Obama’s birth and/or citizenship any longer.
Update: Dave Weigel has the birth certificate over at Slate.com.
Update: Ed Morrissey is right, this conspiracy theory should have died three years ago. I have no idea why the President or his handlers let this “issue” fester for so long… The 2012 presidential campaign is about Barack Obama’s policies and actions as President, not his birth certificate. Thankfully this this sideshow distraction now off the table.