Why Obama's birth certificate issue won't go away: Vanderbilt expert

Vanderbilt University News Network ^ | 7-30-2009 | Carol Swain

[ncfool]

The controversy over President Obama’s birth certificate will not go away as long as he refuses to release sealed records, including the original birth certificate, according to Carol Swain, professor of political science and law at Vanderbilt University.

“I believe that the president should end the speculation by being transparent about all aspects of his background,” Swain said. “In fact, it can be argued that the president belongs to the people and to scholars, biographers and others who are entitled to know every aspect of his past. Only great men can ascend to this height, and their lives should be examined and studied for the lessons they offer.”

Swain said that what is posted online for the president is a certificate of live birth. “It is the failure to release the long form that keeps suspicion alive,” she said. Swain noted that she strongly disagrees with those who want to criticize Americans, including journalist Lou Dobbs, who continue to raise the issue.

Other sealed records that Swain has called for the president to release include those pertaining to his education, foreign travel and state legislative business.

Carol Swain is available for media interviews at carol.swain@vanderbilt.edu.

Media contact: Ann Marie Deer Owens, 615-322-NEWS annmarie.owens@vanderbilt.edu

[ncfool]

Now what do we make of this story by Carol Swain a University Professor who happens to be black from Vanderbilt is questioning why Obama refuses to release his sealed document. We all should write Carol Swain and congratulate here on understanding the issues.

carol.swain@vanderbilt.edu professor of political science and law at Vanderbilt University.

[ecomcon]

I sent her an email thanking her.

[Jeff Head]

It's a simple thing to put to rest. I have a passport and a birth certificate. I can produce them at my house in a matter of minutes. I have not spent a million dollars to either acquire them...or to hide them.

This is not a unreasonable thing to ask for since being a "natural born citizen" of the US is a constitutional requirement for the job of President. It's not hateful, and it's not racist.

Proving that you are should be an honor.

Yet Obama cannot and will not produce either. Why?

THE AUDACITY OF TRUTH ABOUT BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA'S UPBRINGING

[ncfool]

carol.swain@vanderbilt.edu

[mkjessup]

She's BIRTHER! A BIRTHER I tell ya, she was a BIG Birther, bigger than a house, bigger than a giant mouse I tell ya, she's a BIRTHER, everything she ever said means nuthin' now, she can't be believed, can't be trusted, 'cuz she's a BIRTHER!

[using circular logic of faux conservatives who are actually defending 0bama on this issue]

[iowamark]

Common sense from Professor Swain:

“”“I believe that the president should end the speculation by being transparent about all aspects of his background,” Swain said. “In fact, it can be argued that the president belongs to the people and to scholars, biographers and others who are entitled to know every aspect of his past. Only great men can ascend to this height, and their lives should be examined and studied for the lessons they offer.”

Swain said that what is posted online for the president is a certificate of live birth. “It is the failure to release the long form that keeps suspicion alive,” she said. Swain noted that she strongly disagrees with those who want to criticize Americans, including journalist Lou Dobbs, who continue to raise the issue.

Other sealed records that Swain has called for the president to release include those pertaining to his education, foreign travel and state legislative business.””

[Dustbunny]

It will never go away until his Original Birth Certificate is taken out of the vault and shown to the American people.

There is a very simple solution is stop spending hundreds of thousands to keep it hidden.

He had to produce it to get a drivers license, he had to produce it to get a visa. So what is the problem with producing it to show the American citizen.

[RummyChick]

WOW...now if only she was a Democrat...or maybe it would be better if she was a Republican that actually had the strength to make a public opinion.

[concerned about politics]

Other sealed records that Swain has called for the president to release include those pertaining to his education, foreign travel and state legislative business.

Sure. Why not? What's the big deal?

[RummyChick]

Apparently this was done under Bush::

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The U.S. Senate early this morning confirmed the nomination of Carol M. Swain, Vanderbilt professor of political science and law, to the National Council on the Humanities.
The appointment is for a six-year term.

The 26-member council is the advisory board of the National Endowment for the Humanities. NEH is an independent, grant-making agency of the United States government dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation and public programs in the humanities. Swain, whose area of academic interest centers on race relations and representation, immigration and black leadership, was appointed in 2007 to the Tennessee Advisory Committee of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission.

A political independent, Swain directs the Veritas Institute for Justice and Reconciliation. She recently edited and contributed to a book of essays, Debating Immigration, published by Cambridge University Press.

The Vanderbilt Law School will host a symposium March 20-21 centered on the themes of Debating Immigration. During the symposium, a distinguished group of scholars, journalists and activists will grapple with some of the thorniest issues of immigration. More information about the symposium is available on the Vanderbilt News Service homepage at www.vanderbilt.edu/news.

[Genoa]

This is significant. Yes, Vanderbilt is in the Bible belt (Nashville), but it’s left of center and not at all the kind of place you would expect this to be coming from.

[newheart]

“I believe that the president should end the speculation by being transparent about all aspects of his background,” Swain said. “In fact, it can be argued that the president belongs to the people and to scholars, biographers and others who are entitled to know every aspect of his past. Only great men can ascend to this height, and their lives should be examined and studied for the lessons they offer.”

What do we make of this? In my opinion, this is a moment of clarity, an introduction of genuine wisdom into what for way too many people ( on both sides of the issue) is simply an ideological and yes, racial, battle.

Perhaps the only disagreement I would have with her statement is the idea that 'Only great men can ascend to this height..." I think history has disproven that. But great or not, their lives should definitely be studied for the lessons their offer.

It's about transparency Barack. Lay your cards on the table. Soon enough you will be asking us for, "Your papers, please." You go first or go away.

[iowamark]

I had never heard of Carol Swain:

http://www.nashvillescene.com/2008-06-05/news/a-woman-apart/
“A Woman Apart: How a Nashville academic, born poor and black, has become a conservative mouthpiece speaking truth to a world that doesn’t want to hear it.”

[ncfool]

Here is a link to her bio page at Vanderbilt U.

http://law.vanderbilt.edu/faculty/faculty-detail/index.aspx?faculty_id=192

Education
Ph.D., University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
M.S.L. Yale University
M.A. Virginia Polytechnic Institute
B.A. Roanoke College

Biography

Carol M. Swain’s work on representation and race relations has earned her national and international accolades. Her most recent book, Debating Immigration, is a collection of 18 essays by Swain and other scholars that explore the nuances of contemporary immigration and citizenship in the U.S. and Europe. Her highly acclaimed book, Black Faces, Black Interests: The Representation of African Americans in Congress, was named one of the seven outstanding academic books of 1994 by Library Choice Journal, received the 1994 Woodrow Wilson prize for the best book published in the U.S. on government, politics or international affairs, the Hardeman Prize for best scholarly work on Congress during 1994-1995, and was the co-winner of the Key Award for the best book published on southern politics. Black Faces was cited by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy in Johnson v. DeGrandy (1994) and by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor in Georgia V. Ashcroft (2003). She has also written and co-authored books on white nationalism. A widely recognized expert on race relations, immigration, black leadership and evangelical politics, Professor Swain is a member of the Tennessee Advisory Committee to the U.S. Civil Rights Commission and serves on the advisory board of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Her opinion pieces have been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Times and USA Today. She is a regular contributor to CNN’s Lou Dobbs Tonight, and she has appeared on BBC Radio, NPR, CNN’s Andersen Cooper, Fox News Live, the News Hour with Jim Lehrer on PBS, The Washington Journal and ABC’s Headline News, among other media. Before joining Vanderbilt in 1999, Professor Swain was a tenured associate professor of politics and public policy at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. She is a foundation member of the Virginia Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa.

Representative Publications
Books
Debating Immigration (Cambridge University Press, 2007) (editor)

Black Faces, Black Interests: The Representation of African Americans in Congress (Harvard University Press, 1993, 1995) (Reprinted by University Press of America, 2006)

Contemporary Voices of White Nationalism in America (Cambridge U. Press, 2003) (with R. Nieli)
The New White Nationalism in America: Its Challenge to Integration (Cambridge University Press, 2002)
Articles
“Affirmative Action, Legislative History, Judicial Interpretations, Public Consensus,” in America Becoming: Racial Trends and Their Consequences (N. Smelser, W. Wilson & F. Mitchell, eds., National Research Council, 2001)

“Understanding Racial Polarization on Affirmative Action Issues: The View From Focus Groups,” in Color Lines: Affirmative Action, Immigration, and Civil Rights Options for America (J. Skrentny, ed., University of Chicago Press, 2001) (with K. Greene & C. Wotipka)
“Life after Bakke - White’s and Blacks Agree: Public Support for Fairness in Educational Opportunities,” 16 Harvard Black Letter Law Journal 147 (2000) (with Rogers and Silverman)

“Representation and the Electoral Interests of Women and African Americans: A Convergence at Last?,” in Has Liberalism Failed Women? Parity, Quotas, and Political Representation (University of Chicago Press, 2000) (J. Klausen & C. Maier, editors)

[RightWingConspirator]

In 2004 the Democrat presidential candidate, John sKerry, refused to release his military records, and to date, never has. Thank God for the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, who helped ensure that that dirtbag was defeated. What was sKerry hiding? Probably a dishonorable discharge for treasonous activities in wartime, along with a presidential upgrade to honorable by the worst--until now--president of my lifetime, Jimmie Carter.

If a Democrat presidential candidate is trying to hide something, it likely is something that would prevent him from holding office.

[Genoa]

This will be a hard one to spin/ignore.

[P-Marlowe]

In fact, it can be argued that the president belongs to the people and to scholars, biographers and others who are entitled to know every aspect of his past.

We're winning on this one gang. Let's keep the pressure up. Pretty soon historians and scholars are going to want to know all the FACTS about this "historical figure" Barack Obama... or whatever his name is.

Birthers of the World Unite!

[Genoa]

bttt

[ncfool]

Here is more that Carol has written about this issue.

CAROL M. SWAIN COMMENTARY: Why Will Obama’s Birth Certificate Issue Not Go Away?

Issue Not Go Away? The law and political science professor at Vanderbilt University and moderate-conservative writes about the birther conspiracy theorists, who contend that U.S. President Barack Obama was really born in Kenya: “The President of the United States belongs to the people. A lot of Americans are troubled by sealed records. Some feel that if the President has nothing to hide, then why not release the original birth certificate and open other sealed records: educational, foreign travel passports, and state legislative records. A birth certificate is a tangible document issue that everybody can relate to. Most of us have one tucked away in our home. It’s needed for public benefits as well as school admission and passports. Mine has the exact moment I was born, the city, hospital, and attending physician. What is posted online for President Obama is a certificate of live birth. The birth certificate issue will not disappear. It is the failure to release the long form that keeps suspicion alive.”

She continues: “I am perplexed by sealed records in the President’s background. It is a biographer’s nightmare and it hampers scholars and constrains the narrative that we tell future generations. I have not heard a compelling reason for the White House’s refusal to honestly address the sealed documents. One reporter said it ‘makes political sense for Obama to allow the discussion to continue because it distracts and weakens his opponents. It also seems that nothing would satisfy the birthers. It all adds up to, ‘why bother?’” I strongly disagree with this reporter’s position, and the well-orchestrated strategy to crucify and vilify Americans who raise the issue. Is there any merit to the story? No, but it has legs as long as the President refuses to release his sealed documents. The White House strategy may be part of a well orchestrated smokescreen to divert public attention from other sealed documents. But I hardly see the strategic advantage to the President of letting the issue be debated around kitchen tables and on the Internet. I believe the President should end the speculation by being transparent about all aspects of his background. In fact, it can be argued that the President belongs to the people and to scholars, biographers, and others who are entitled to know every aspect of his past. Only great men can ascend to this height and their lives should be examined and studied for the lessons they offer.”

[Know et al]

I sent her an email thanking her.

---

I am drafting one now. She is going to catch a lot of flack over her position. We need to give her all the support we can.