Romney adviser: Obama's birthplace not an issue in the race -- Politico

[bsteadman]

Romney adviser: Obama's birthplace not an issue in the race

Politico
Maggie Haberman
5/25/2012

Excerpt:

"In advance of the fundraiser with Mitt Romney and Donald Trump on Tuesday, the candidate's senior adviser Eric Fehrnstrom tried to set the line on CNN a short time ago.

"I can't speak for Donald Trump," Fehrnstrom said. "But I can tell you that Mitt Romney accepts that President Obama was born in the United States. He doesn't view the place of his birth as an issue in this campaign."

That's not quite a rejection of the birtherism that Trump, by declaring Obama was actually born in Kenya, is embracing. But it sets up a "we can't own our surrogates" approach that Romney himself will likely use when asked."

View the complete article, including video, at:

http://www.politico.com/blogs/burns-haberman/

[bsteadman]

Free Republic is running a thread titled, 'Romney adviser: Obama's birthplace not an issue in the race', which was started 5/27/2012 by 'raulgomez05'

The thread references the 5/25/2012 Politico article with the same title, written by Maggie Habberman

View the complete Free Republic thread at:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2888533/posts

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The following is COMMENT #30, by 'Seizethecarp' in the thread:

“Romney dealt a blow to the Birther movement.” (Comment #1 by 'raulgomez05')

"I disagree strongly.

Willard indirectly endorsed Trump's “birtherism” when he embraced not only Trump's endorsement but in promoting Trump as a surrogate, i.e. a man whose opinion he values and whom he is asking others to respect.

Willard's strategy is tactically brilliant and cynical, which is to distance himself personally from Trump's “birtherism” while endorsing Trump as a wise and valued counsel.

Willard is only saying his campaign is not going to directly pursue Barry's ineligibility, but Willard has not denounced Trump's past and recent statements on the merits.

This is driving Barry, Axelrod and Jarrett crazy as all of their surrogates are falling all over themselves to try to get Willard to denounce Trump's statement, but he hasn't, yet!"


The following is COMMENT #46, by 'Cicero' in the thread:

"I agree that Romney should refrain from attacking Obama on the birther issue. Let others do it for him.

But that does NOT mean that it’s his job to DEFEND Obama, or to say that it has no relevance to the campaign. Nonsense. Of course it has relevance that the man in the White House is probably an illegal alien who has twice forged his COLB and constantly lies about his origins and most of the happenings in his life.

If, as seems extremely probable, Obama is not qualified to be President, then that is certainly relevant to the campaign.

The Republican candidate should say that it’s not his job to say where Obama was born. Let Obama address the issue if there are any questions. And leave it at that.

But as many Freepers have observed, Romney only attacks his opponents when they are conservatives. Then as soon as a Democrat appears on the scene, he starts making nice. Much like McCain, only far worse."

The following is an excerpt from COMMENT #47, by 'okie01' in the thread:

"... I've always believed that there was only one "birther" argument that was worth pursuing. Was Obama born in the USA....or was he not? The outcome of any such investigation -- delivering proof, one way or another -- could be considered dispository.

The natural-born citizen argument has always struck me as a red herring. Everybody who gave a damn about who was going to be elected in 2008 already knew that Obama's daddy had been born in Kenya. Obama himself had written of it. If that singular event made him ineligible for the office of the President, why didn't even one of the thousands of politicians and lawyers and scholars whose business it is to know the Constitution and Electoral Law come forward with that proposition?

To my knowledge, none did...until we were several years into Obama's term. And, even then, we are left with an argument that can only be decided by a court -- whose verdict will never be announced so long as Obama is an elected President.

What an utter waste of effort... "