Why, the birth certificate is about evidence and proof, the "are Peurto Ricanos eligible" is about the meaning of "Natural Born", just as "born in the US of one citizen and one alien parent" would be.I reiterate: this is much ado about nothing
I tend to agree, but the statements are so veiled it's hard to tell who was digging a whom.
“the statements are so veiled it’s hard to tell who was digging a whom.”
All I’m saying is that it was Serrano, not Thomas, who kept poking away at the issue. And given Thomas’s generally respectful tone immediate prior to engaging in this banter, it seems improbable (though surely not impossible) that he was trying to “poke” the Dems with the birth certificate issue.
Of equal importance, had Serrano realized Thomas was attempting this, he likely would have called him out on it, pressing him to state publicly whether he believed president was born in Hawaii. The Dems have to date succeeded in making those who argue the “birther” position be subjects of ridicule (which preempts the necessity of discussing the issue rationally or using actual evidence). Serrano would have been happy to ingratiate himself to Nancy Pelosi by exploiting this opportunity to score a debating point.
You make it sound like a flip of a coin. In contrast, I believe the weight of the evidence (though not 100% of it) leans in favor of a benign interpretation of this exchange. Had Thomas wished to send a message to either birthers or Dems, he could have and would have done so.