I included the discussion preceding the often cited exchange to add context.
Before what is posted below, there was a lot of details about court funding in general, but there was also some light hearted exchanges about the Red Sox, White Sox and Yankees. The atmosphere at the meeting was congenial and jovial.
There was no discussion of Obama, and there is no way of knowing if Thomas was thinking of the president or his eligibility.
However, it is obvious from the transcript that Chairman Serrano was joking about his own eligibility to be president because of his Puerto Rican birth...and that is what Justice Thomas was responding to.
SERRANO: You know it's interesting, Justice Thomas, when you say it's a humbling experience. I'll tell you a quick experience that I had.
I represent, as you know, the South Bronx. And there’re a lot of immigrants in the South Bronx. There’re a lot of folks with English as a second language, a lot of poor folks, a lot of folks with little education. And so even explaining on a daily basis after 20 years in Congress what it is a member of Congress does, it's a daily routine for me either in the school, in the community center or on the street.
When Sonia Sotomayor was being considered, granted that a lot of the excitement was the fact that she was a woman from the Bronx, that she was a Hispanic woman, that her parents were from Puerto Rico. But there was no explanation on my part as to what she was being nominated for. Everybody understood la Corte Suprema (ph - Spanish).
You know it was as if they knew that this was huge. This was big. This was important. This was a coming of age for the community. And it became something where everywhere I went, you want to make sure this happens. So I say oh, yes, I spoke to the Senate; it's a done deal you know.
But the importance, I've told you in the past, much to the dismay of some of my friends on the left, but I feel a little uneasy about having a hearing for the Supreme Court because of the respect I have for the court. I don't always agree with its decisions, but I have a respect for it.
So it's humbling, but the public understands. The public understands the importance of what you do and the bearing it has on the future of our country. And so we always thank you for your service and tell the other seven that we do the same.
THOMAS: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And it's always an honor being here. You and I have been at this together for a decade and a half. And...
SERRANO: I'm glad to hear that you don't think there has to be a judge on the court because I'm not a judge. I have never been a judge.
THOMAS: And you don't have to be born in the United States. You never have to answer that question.
SERRANO: Oh really?
THOMAS: Yes.
SERRANO: So you haven't answered the one about whether I can serve as president, but you answer this one.
THOMAS: We're evading that one. We're giving you another option.
SERRANO: Thanks a lot.
THOMAS: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
SERRANO: Ms. Emerson?
This playful banter was a running gag between the Puerto Rican born Chairman Serranno and Justice Thomas. But run it through the WND birther conspiracy generator and before you know it, more evidence of a massive cover-up.
You have to watch it live. It was not a running gag. It was just a normal conversation until out of the blue Thomas mentioned the part about not having to be born here to be on the court. Then there was uncomfortable silence. It was an uncomfortable exchange until the end when Thomas smiled as if to give the excuse that it was banter when in reality it had been an uncomfortable exchange brought about deliberately by Thomas bringing up the issue of birthplace in determining what position a person qualifies for.
I gave the link for it; I just counsel anybody to watch it. I totally blew off this conversation based on descriptions similar to yours when I was unable to watch any video on my computer. Then when I had to switch computers I was able to watch it and was immediately struck by how out-of-the-blue Thomas’ comment was, and what an uncomfortable silence it created.
So I say to everybody, listen to it first and then figure out what you think was going on there, because the descriptions don’t always accurately portray the real atmosphere.
Is Puerto Rico a US territory?
Were both of Serrano’s parents US citizens at the time of his birth?
What’s so hard about that?