04-27-2011, 10:25 PM
PeterB wrote:
[quote=rjmacs]
How did they want it? I'm not clear about in what way he isn't playing their game? Granted, he thinks that doing so will win over the mild skeptics and further marginalize the die-hards - but that's a political calculation. To me, it doesn't look like thumb-nosing, it looks like high-profile recognition. (Also, i don't think it's accurate to imply that all Tea Party members are birthers, or vice versa.)
I think it's disingenuous to say that there's no connection between the birthers and the tea partiers ... certainly not all tea partiers are birthers, but some of them share the same basis of hatred.
I don't think they *really* wanted his birth certificate, what they wanted was to de-legitimize his Presidency, any way they could (implying that he's not native-born, not a Christian, other forms of innuendo and rumor, etc.). They didn't get what they wanted. If there was a "game", it was for him to be de-legitimized, and they just lost.
Well, i certainly agree that they want to de-legitimize his Presidency, and to that end are willing to go after any chink they see in the armor (as you aptly noted). But in politics, a big part of getting your way is being heard; for years, Barack Obama's approach to the birthers was to deny them recognition (to de-legitimize them, actually, by not acknowledging their claims as serious). I thought this was a pretty good strategy, actually, but clearly he decided to change course. I also think it's a little early to declare victory or defeat on this game yet (it's very new news, still). Polls over the coming weeks and months will tell whether it was an effective tactical switch. The ultimate results in matters like this are determined by public opinion, not 'facts.'