Barack Obama's Birth Certificate Stirs Controversy

The latest controversy stirring in the camp of the Democratic Presidential candidate revolves around a piece of paper. Barack Obama has thus far abstained from releasing his birth certificate. While in the past many would say such a small matter is an ultimately unimportant matter, in this case it has caused what seems to be a major ruckus among many voters. With the rumors dispelled earlier in Obama's fight for the candidacy coming back into play, some have become skeptical, nervous, and overall anxious over the Illinois Senator's refusal to release the document.

So why should a piece of paper cause such a major commotion? The main issue revolves around the rumors associated with the Obama campaign's withholding of the document. Among them are questions of the place of Senator Obama's birth and some hidden truth behind the Senator's name.

The first rumor is that Senator Obama was actually born in Kenya. This rumor seems to have originated in an email stating to have some hidden information about the details of the Senator's birth. According to the email, Barack Obama's mother was living in Kenya at the time of his birth. The email goes on to allege that after his birth, his mother took him to Hawaii to register the birth.

The issue was raised on Snopes.com, where claims of his Kenyan birth were quickly disseminated, soon becoming claims that the non-American native was running for President in an attempt to disrupt the framework of the United States. Claims of everything from Obama being some sort of conniving secret-Muslim seeking to destroy America to his being the Anti-Christ became all the rage in online forums and blogs. Yet these claims were quickly disputed, and all but forgotten . . . until now.

Now, with the refusal to release his birth certificate, Barack Obama seems to have rekindled the flame beneath this rumor. The benefit and drawback of releasing the document, then, fall along the same lines: releasing it could either prove these claims true, or quickly and efficiently prove them false.

The next rumors all hinge on the validity of Senator Obama's name. Some claim he changed his name from Barry to the more Middle Eastern/Islamic sounding Barack. Others claim his middle name was not Hussein, but Mohammed. Of course, many hold that, whether Obama released the document or not, the latter claim holds little weight.

What, many ponder, would be the significance of his changing his middle name from one Muslim sounding name to another? Some, however, might seem to believe that the name change suggests an attempt to sound more Muslim, an idea few grant any credibility to, and others call just plain, well, dumb. In regards to the former matter, again, releasing the birth certificate would yield little to be concerned about.

A Newsweek.com report already addressed Senator Obama's shedding of the "Barry" nickname in college, instead choosing a preference for the name he shares with his father, Barack. Thus, even if he had changed his name officially from a birth certificate record of "Barry" to "Barack," it wouldn't show a change to be "more Muslim," but instead simply adopts the name of his father. In other words, despite the hype, there seems to be little cause for controversy over this issue, either. However, the refusal to release the document, if not inflaming this issue, also suggests to some that something else might be "hidden" there.

In light of all these issues, most of which have already been disputed and disregarded in the past, many question whether or not the issue of the birth certificate should be an issue at all. The issues which have been sparked over the birth certificate's release seem to be nominal at the most. Many have agreed the "controversy" seems more of a distraction than an actual issue; a report from the Online Journal calls the issue a "GOP dirty trick".

To be sure, some deep hidden secret regarding Senator Obama's origins and heritage could, in the end, prove extremely damaging, if not completely destructive, to his run for the Presidency. Yet his refusal to release the birth certificate, despite any validity to these claims or not, at this point only seems to prove just as detrimental. It seems only time will tell, whether the birth certificate is released or not, what the release-or refusal to release-will ultimately mean for Senator Obama's candidacy.

Resources:

Snopes.com, "Barack Obama was Born in Kenya" (Thread), Snopes.com

Wayne Madsen, "GOP dirty trick machine readies a charge that Obama is not eligible to be pres", OnlineJournal.com

Richard Wolffe, Jessica Ramirez and Jeffrey Bartholet, "When Barry Became Barack", Newsweek.com