http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/apr/27/donald-trump-birth-certificaterationThe fact is that the Obama administration has played the recent spasm of birther attention remarkably well. They have let Trump rise up on a balloon of inflated birther nonsense – getting near the top of Republican polls for the 2012 nomination – and then promptly popped it underneath him. Look at the timing. This was meant to be a moment all about Trump appearing in New Hampshire, the vital first state to hold a primary in the nomination process. It was a moment where Trump the outsider upstart was meant to begin to look a little serious.
Instead, the White House timed the release so that Trump would be right in the media's glare when the birther bubble burst. Not surprisingly, he looked like an idiot. At a news conference, he blustered about his proud achievement in forcing the release of the birth certificate, then attempted to cast a little doubt on it and finally made up a CNN poll that he claimed showed him neck-and-neck with Obama in the race (CNN promptly reported no such poll exists).
No one needed any more proof to understand that Trump is a joke in very poor taste. But he provided it anyway – in long form. Not that Trump will give two hoots. His brand is about reality TV and celebrity, not political, reality. But the Republican party should care. A lot.
Which is why Obama has played this well. His team waited for Trump to have enough rope to hang himself on the birther issue, and in doing so, have helped him toxify the Republican brand – just as he tried to debut his serious side.
SNIP
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