This hogwash will provide jobs and meaning for the lives of thousands of people well into the next millenium, and, like the other two conspiracy theories, will elude resolution.
But unlike JFK and 9/11 speculation, the “Natural Born Citizen (NBC)” calming the controversy could be dramatically advanced by one, living person’s simple, voluntary act of releasing a birth certificate. Furthermore, there would be much to gain by this act if the document in question actually demonstrated NBC status. Therefore, the failure to release it leads to one of three possible conclusions. 1) The document tends to disprove NBC status, 2) the document tends to prove NBC status but there is some tactical advantage in keeping it secret, or 3) the document tends to prove NBC status but releasing it would not change the minds of anti-Obama “true believers.”
In reverse order, #3 is specious because surely Obama’s people are smart enough to know that a rather large contingent of the would-be birthers among us would in fact stand down from that argument given credible evidence. There are enough such people that releasing the document would completely deflate the movement, despite a few straggling “true believers.” Therefore, while the “it wouldn’t do any good” argument might placate Obama’s “true believers,” it is unsatisfying to the thinking person in terms of showing credible motive, leading us to look elsewhere.
#2, if true, reveals as much as the undisclosed document might reveal. The first task of a standing president is to act in the best interests of the people as a whole, and deliberately stirring up conflict among brothers is manifestly NOT in the people’s interest. Natural conflicts are so plentiful in a nation with such diversity of background and perspective, that it seems positively evil to instigate unnatural conflicts where none need exist. Therefore, #2, while it could be true, exposes an active malevolence we should hope not to find in any president, and all good Americans should hope to find the answer in yet another place.
Which leads us to #1. The most natural motive for suppressing the document is that it does hurt Obama in some way. NBC status is one possible way, the likeliest, I think. Other forms of political debilitation might result from the document’s release as well. In any event, one must conclude that some aspect of Obama’s public image is a deliberate deception. Otherwise there is simply no motive, no rational way to explain the stubborn inaction. At least the 9/11 and JFK conspirators actually did something. Whereas Obama, when asked to authenticate his constitutional claim to the most powerful executive office in the world, has simply voted “present.”