Posted on 07/24/2009 2:36:27 PM PDT by Steelfish
CNN chief addresses Obama birth controversy
Jon Klein e-mails 'Lou Dobbs Tonight' staffers that legitimacy of the president's birth certificate is a 'dead' story but doesn't order them to drop the issue.
By Matea Gold July 25, 2009
Reporting from New York -- CNN/U.S. President Jon Klein told staffers of "Lou Dobbs Tonight" Thursday that the controversy regarding the legitimacy of President Obama's birth certificate -- a topic Dobbs has avidly pursued on the air -- is a "dead" story.
But in an interview, the cable news chief left open the possibility that Dobbs may continue to raise questions about why the president has not produced a long-form birth certificate. The absence of such a record has spawned rumors that Obama was not born in the United States, despite plenty of evidence to the contrary.
"He's got more than 30 years as a television journalist and I trust him, as I trust all our reporters and anchors, to exercise their judgment as various stories evolve," Klein said of Dobbs, whose daily CNN program is a mix of news and opinion.
"Certainly if there are future news pegs, then we have to take that story as it comes," he added.
That appeared to be a step back from the stance Klein took in his e-mail Thursday, in which he wrote that CNN researchers had determined that Hawaiian officials discarded paper documents in 2001.
Because of that, Obama's long-form birth certificate no longer exists and a shorter certificate of live birth that has been made public is the official record, they reported.
"It seems to definitively answer the question," Klein wrote in the e-mail, first reported by the website TVNewser.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
On Friday, Klein said he was not ordering the staff to drop the story.
"When I use the word 'seems,' that's an open invitation to disagree," he said. "Other people may have a different point of view about that and they're welcome to offer it, because I don't think as management you ever want to be closed down to discussions about editorial issues."
"I have written directives in the past," he added, "and believe me, there would be no mistaking a directive from me."
Klein said he did not hear from Dobbs in response to the e-mail. The host, who raised many of the questions about Obama's birth on his radio program, was on the air Friday afternoon after press deadline and could not be reached for comment.
Some of Dobbs' staff at CNN have told him and network executives that they are uncomfortable with his persistent focus on the story.
Klein said that none of the complaints about Dobbs' coverage reached him, adding that he believes the host's treatment of the so-called "birther" movement has been "legitimate."
Dobbs pushed his producers to run another segment on the story July 17, a day he was off the air, that would feature two figures behind the Obama alien-birth campaign.
His staff went ahead with the piece, but they wrote a script that called the rumors of the president's foreign birth "the discredited rumor that won't go away."
In the introduction, guest host Kitty Pilgrim shut down questions about the story, saying: "CNN has fully investigated the issue, found no basis for the questions about the president's birthplace, but the controversy lives on, especially on the Internet."
On his show Thursday, Dobbs did note the explanation from Hawaiian officials, as Klein suggested in his e-mail. But he went on to devote another full segment to the topic.
In it, Dobbs stressed that he has said repeatedly that he believes Obama is a citizen, something that he said his critics in the "left-wing media" ignore. But he continued to press the question of why Obama has not shown a long-form birth certificate.
"When this could be dispelled so quickly, and simply by producing it, why not do it?" he asked.
Beware the zombie birthers!
"I'm not dead YET!"
Hey Lou, just explain to me why he is a citizen - just because you say so? Let’s say you refuse to take a drug test for CNN. Yeh, I’ll believe that you are clean.
“CNN researchers had determined that Hawaiian officials discarded paper documents in 2001.”
Did they take photographs? Microfilmed them before they were “discarded?”
Or did they hire lots of people and spend millions of dollars to have people type input millions? of old Hawai birth certificates, then “discard” the paper?
I think the former more likely.
The article said — Because of that, Obama’s long-form birth certificate no longer exists and a shorter certificate of live birth that has been made public is the official record, they reported.
—
That’s inaccurate reporting or a stupid reporter or someone that doesn’t understand what was going on... LOL...
There is a database of information about what is on the birth certificate and that stuff is printed out on the standard short form. Then there is an image file that is the original birth certificate and that would be printed out and certified for anyone who wanted their own birth certificate or had need for it.
It’s still there — it’s just not in paper form, but electronic form...
The reason why Lou says that he believes Obama is qualified is because he doesn’t want the birth certificate issue (of “showing it”) to be diverted off on that track. He just wants the birth certificate shown... :-)
I trust all our reporters and anchors to exercise judgement, and not to embarrass CNN, or cause CNN to lose advertisement revenue, and finally not cause embarrassment to government in power.
“It’s still there — it’s just not in paper form, but electronic form...”
Any official confirmation of this? Who is the state custodian of the electronic form? Was Obama’s “long-form birth certificate” the only one that was destroyed?
I guess the CIA got O fixed up with a BC.I will never trust O in the least bit.I do hope the court cases keep coming and CNN bites the dust.This is not over until the fat lady sings.CNN is not a court but a bunch propaganda liberal lapdogs.
Here’s a transcript of the Lou Dobbs show, specifically pertaining to that report.
Meanwhile the State of Hawaii says it can’t release a paper copy of the President’s original birth certificate, becasuse, they say the state government discarded the original document when the Health Department records went electronic some eight years ago.
Face Off: Obama’s Birth Certificate
Thursday, 7/23/2009
President Obama promised transparency in government… yet the White House won’t release his original birth certificate. Many Americans are asking… why not? The mainstream liberal media is attacking me for simply asking the question. Meanwhile… the state of Hawaii says it cannot release a paper copy of the president’s original birth certificate because it discarded the original document when its health department records went electronic eight years ago. That explanation has not satisfied critics though. Joining Lou: Roland Martin, CNN contributor and syndicated columnist, and Congressman Ted Poe.
Here’s the link, but shows “roll off” so this is a link from the date of 7/24/2009. I can’t say the link will display this show (as I give you above) in the days to come.
So..., the paper was destroyed, and the Department of Health News Release in 2008 says that they have the original record..., hence, they’ve got an image file, since there is “no paper”...
Demand the FRAUD produce his Birth Certificate!! He brags about keeping it in a special box in his bedroom and reading it frequently in his “Wonderful “DREAMS FROM MY ABSENT,DRUNKEN,POLYGAMIST,COMMUNIST,INSANE KENYAN FATHER!” which incidently appears to be written not by OBOZO(cant write coherently worth a darn..)but by the Unrepentant, Pentagon Bombing Terrorist named William Ayers! Is there anything America can believe about OBOZO, The Fraud!
I think this boils it all down... actually...
No one has been able to get Obama to produce his birth certificate.
There is no legal requirement that Obama produce his birth certificate.
States can make laws requiring candidates to produce a birth certificate.
Once people understand that, they know exactly what their next step is — go to their state legislature and get the law passed... :-)
The truth according to Klein.
The news according to CNN.
Ok.
Is that “dead” in the sense of CNN’s future?
I would like to ask a question:
Why is an official HI document certifying the presence of a BC not signed by the person certifying the statement?
Can it be considered official without a signature?
How can it be proven that it was J Okubo that initiated the statement.
Anyone else think this is a bit strange?
I have no idea... it came from another FReeper... :-)
But, I do know that this has been referenced many times (i.e., what was said here) in many posts over a long period of time, here on Free Republic. So, apparently many FReepers are going by what this says...
Now, if all those FReepers are wrong, it would be good to find that out as soon as possible...
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