I quoted your entire paragaph, but the key phrase is this: “A head of state who is seen as illegitimate by a large sector of his people “
Are you arguing that a significantly large segment of the Dems voters didn’t think that was true all through his first four years?
My observation at the time, was that there was a very loud and vocal segment of Democrats who continued to promote this myth, even though Bush won the contest fair and square, through receiving more electoral votes than Gore.
If you recall, all of the noise wasn't about Bush's alleged "illegitimacy". Most of the noise was about Bush himself. The left simply loathed the man.
In the Bush case, the matter was settled legally, and with full transparency before he ever set foot in the White House. The matter wasn't dragged out by Bush himself, as Barry is doing. And, he IS doing it himself, by refusing to relinquish his original birth certificate. AND, this has now been going on for six whole months! It started well before election day.
In Bush's case, you could posit that he was "illegitimate" because some questioned whether he actually won a very close contest. However, the matter was settled by the courts and the Electoral College in accordance with our laws and the Constitution.
Fair, or unfair, the contest had to be decided for someone. In an election as close as that one was, there are going to be some people who will always feel that their guy really won. It's human nature.
This time is very different. The contest wasn't close. It was a decisive victory for one of the opponents. However, it's being questioned whether the victor even had the right to be in the contest in the first place.
There is enough circumstantial evidence to suggest that he is not qualified, to warrant the question. What's suspicious, and what is driving this entire controversy, is that he refuses to answer the question by presenting the simple and indisputable proof of his eligibility.
Think of this in terms of a sporting contest, where one team beats the other decisively. During the game, and up to the final buzzer, fans are yelling from the bleachers that the opposing team's quarterback is ineligible to play. The fans have seen reports in the news that indicate there may be some issue with his eligibility, so they want to know that everything is on the up and up.
All the QB has to do, is tell his coach to show the opposing coach a piece of paper that documents his eligibility, but he refuses to do so, and keeps right on playing. His team goes on to win the game by a wide margin.
Now, do you think the fans are just going to walk out of the stadium in peace, and simply accept their loss without protest, or are they going to continue to demand that the winning team show them proof of fair play?