NYT Editorial: ".... a profoundly low and debasing moment in American political life"

[cali]

A Certificate of Embarrassment
Published: April 27, 2011


With sardonic resignation, President Obama, an eminently rational man, stared directly into political irrationality on Wednesday and released his birth certificate to history. More than halfway through his term, the president felt obliged to prove that he was a legitimate occupant of the Oval Office. It was a profoundly low and debasing moment in American political life.

The disbelief fairly dripped from Mr. Obama as he stood at the West Wing lectern. People are out of work, American soldiers are dying overseas and here were cameras to record him stating that he was born in a Hawaii hospital. It was particularly galling to us that it was in answer to a baseless attack with heavy racial undertones.

Mr. Obama practically begged the public to set aside these distractions, expressing hope that his gesture would end the “silliness” and allow a national debate about budget priorities. It won’t, of course.

If there was ever any doubt about Mr. Obama’s citizenship, which there was not, the issue was settled years ago when Hawaii released his birth certificate. The fuller document that Mr. Obama had to request contains some extra information, including his parents’ signatures and the name of the hospital where he was born, but it was unnecessary to show his legitimacy.

<snip>

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/28/opinion/28thu1.html?_r=1#

[tularetom]

1. Even the NYT gets it right once in awhile

[bluestateguy]

2. And yet the article is written by the same cocktail party media that forced him to do this

The NYT is so prissy and snotty. They really do think they are better than all the other media.

[cali]

3. no, the NYT has consistently called out the birther shit

and this is pretty good editorial.

more:

It is inconceivable that this campaign to portray Mr. Obama as the insidious “other” would have been conducted against a white president.

There was a price to the party for keeping the issue alive; inevitably, it was picked up by a cartoon candidate, Donald Trump, who rode birtherism directly to the prime-time promontories of cable TV. The Republican establishment began to wince as it became increasingly tied to Mr. Trump’s flirtations with racial provocation, and Karl Rove told him to knock it off. Naturally, he did not.

[elleng]

5. ...

:thumbsup:

[Vinnie From Indy]

4. While the NYT is certainly correct about the role of Republican leaders in

the perpetuation of the "birther" issue, they completely undersell the role of their brethren in the press. I believe it is no accident that the NYT does NOT mention by name the purveyors of hate on FOX News and AM Hate Radio. This article does correctly explain the underlying racism that is obvious to all but the willfully ignorant, but it greatly misses the mark in regard to one of the fundamental causes of why we are where we are in our national dysfunction - the Right Wing hate machine of FOX News and AM hate radio.

[riderinthestorm]

6. I agree. While the editorial is pure common sense, their cowardice in naming

the guilty says a ton about the Grey Lady's integrity, and why she's failing. Too afraid to actually speak ill of the current "titans" of media (cough).

[coalition_unwilling]

7. Hah! The NY Times has the gall to characterize anything as "a

profoundly low and debasing moment in American political life"?? I'll tell you what's prodoundly low and debasing - lieing the nation into a war (Iraq) that caused so much death and destruction to innocent people. Fuck the NY Times. Bunch of fucking hypocrites.