The birth certificate that FactCheck examined and photographed was an original in the sense of being the paper document that the Hawaii Department of Health certified by stamping the attestation of the record keeper and applying of the seal of the office. The seal is embossed, so it distinguishes the certified document from a copy.
Very well. I’d be MORE than willing to accept that IF (1) ANY other media or citizen group could have the same access to the short form Birth Certificate that FactCheck.org had, and (2) if the actual, official Long Form Certificate issued at the time of his birth was made available
However, ONLY FactCheck.org has ever SEEN and handled the “Short Term” BC you claim is authentic. NO ONE ELSE has EVER laid eyes on it. And the Long Form BC — NEVER seen. Obama has spent over $2 million to keep them “sealed.” Why? Why do you suppose that is?
I think it is accurate to say that the exact amount is unknown and the $2 million figure is made up. Certainly lawyers have appeared in various cases on Obama's behalf, but it seems unlikely that Obama is paying for them out of his own pocket. Did Nixon pay John Dean's salary? In any case, the lawyers for Obama have not had to fight very hard since no one has presented a case that even seems close to getting the courts to go along.