Obama's Birthday, Birthers, Lou Dobbs, and the Illegitimate Birth Certificate Movement

Well, Tuesday is President Barack Obama's birthday and you can bet the birther movement, those who believe that President Obama was not born in the U. S. (and is therefore ineligible to be president) and its propaganda machine will be in warp-drive supercallifragilisticexpialinonsense mode as it ratchets up the volume to counter that group of left-leaning tree-hugging socialists singing a strained (and probably intimidated) "Happy Birthday" at the White House. And it isn't that the right-wing lunatic fringe has a case about the authenticity of President Obama's birth certificate (they do not) and that they hate birthdays (they do not -- who does?), even if that birthday happens to be President Obama's, but that they have taken a non-issue to astronomical lengths and gotten so voluble and obnoxious that they are being given far more than their fair share of air time on news networks. Not that the birther cause and its staunch refutation of anything factual regarding the birth certificate and the nationality of President Barack Obama is not news (it is), just that it doesn't deserve the red carpet treatment it gets at Fox News and at CNN's "Lou Dobbs Tonight."

The media covers the Ku Klux Klan, terrorist groups, right-wing extremists and left-wing extremists (and they should), but they do not let it get in the way of reporting the news (for the most part). Fox News, via faux journalist and uber patriot smear commissar Sean Hannity, has become a leading rabble rousing force when it comes to the Obama birth certificate. The network and its various pundits and talk show anchors, "Fox and Friends" and Glenn Beck, et. al., are constantly harping on the subject, even though proof has been offered in countless forms that President Barack Obama was born in Hawaii in 1961.

His birthday? August 4.

But most cognitively engaged people do not take Sean Hannity and his narrow-to-no-minded ilk seriously as either a source of sound and substantiated information or as real news. But that cannot be said of veteran CNN anchor and newsman Lou Dobbs.

Lou Dobbs, who has been reporting the news since forever (at least on cable) has been a mainstay of the CNN stable of anchors for a couple of decades. Although given to bombast at times, Lou Dobbs' form of commentary-laced news reporting became the template by which many cable news shows (and any other news show, for that matter) have been judged (and many judged wanting) over the last few years. But his embrasure of the birther cause is not only a departure from his usual populist platform, but also a push toward legitimization of a non-credible extremist movement that would be in denial of the existence of an authentic Obama Hawaiian birth certificate if they were to be able to travel back in time and watch the birth and filling out of the birth certificate themselves.

Even Jon Stewart ran a segment on "The Daily Show" where he ran clips of birther madness being promoted by Sean Hannity and others. But then he showed Kitty Pilgrim, a Lou Dobbs protégé and fill-in anchor, run through as guest anchor on "Lou Dobbs Tonight" a long list of verifications and validations of the authenticity of Barack Obama having been born in Hawaii in 1961 (including two newspaper birth notices). Then Jon Stewart showed Lou Dobbs days later calling on President Obama to present his original birth certificate for viewing since no incontrovertible evidence had as yet been offered, leading Stewart to yell at Lou Dobbs' image, "Do you even watch your own f------ network?"

And, by extension, his own show, "Lou Dobbs Tonight"?

CNN prides itself with maintaining as close to a centrist or apolitical position as possible, so Lou Dobbs' legitimization of the lunatic fringe birther movement has become an embarrassment to the network. Some defend Dobbs' giving the birther movement airtime alongside of political analysts and Obama administration officials who debunk the proffered "facts" as a legitimate part of the CNN "no bias" brand. But some believe it is simply poor news coverage and irresponsible.

According to the Associated Press, Lou Dobbs has been under fire not only for his stance on the Obama birth certificate controversy but because his ratings have been slipping. Some have offered that it was the latter that caused Lou Dobbs to embrace the former. Perhaps the veteran newsman has been taking his cues from the popular Obama stompfest of Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck, who have an ample and avid fan base. But it may have backfired. According to The Observer, in the last two weeks of July (when Dobbs began airing segments about the birth certificate movement and controversy), "Lou Dobbs Tonight" has lost 13% of its total viewership and 27% in the 25-54 age group demographic.

To be fair, Lou Dobbs style is usually even-handed and from a populist point of view. His shows highlight topics not given much consideration by most news organizations (relations with China, illegal immigration, the Mexican border drug war) and his political round table segments are paneled by representatives from across the political spectrum, from Republican strategist Ed Rollins to left-wing talk show host Ed Schultz. Coming down most times in the center of a argument or perhaps a little to the right (or seemingly so, since it isn't left), Dobbs doesn't have to worry about CNN going after his job. As CNN U.S. President Jon Klein notes, most of Dobbs' newscast is straightforward news and in accord with CNN's nonpartisan agenda. Besides, he's a CNN icon.

But what about the birther controversy?

Bill O'Reilly at Fox News, who acknowledges that he believes Obama is an American citizen (as does Dobbs), has vocally supported Lou Dobbs and his right to talk about the birther issue.

But it isn't his right to talk about the birther issue that is the issue. The birther issue isn't a legitimate issue at all. It was at first, simply because it questioned the authenticity of the birth certificate of a man who was running for president and, if the claims had been true that he was not a natural born citizen of the U. S., had no Constitutional right to run for the presidency. However, since the issue was settled during the primaries and the presidential election campaign, adding fuel to a non-issue fire has taken away from news and coverage of stories that are far more important -- such as the trade imbalance of China and a growing destabilization along the Mexican border.

But the birth certificate ridiculousness did not help a veteran newsman who has come under fire from groups like the Southern Poverty Law Center, the ACLU, and Media Matters as heavy-handed and inflammatory at times (especially with regard to the immigration issue). In addition, the blatant miscue of stating that Obama should present his birth certificate after so many examples of verification were given by a newsperson on his own show did nothing to enhance Dobbs' reputation as a polarizer.

Not to mention giving credence to an illegitimate movement and giving them a platform.

What covering the birthers and their illegitimate movement did was de-legitimize Lou Dobbs' news program. Perhaps his sudden ratings slump will provide impetus to return to his regular news fare.

Tuesday is President Barack Obama's 48th birthday. The birth certificate issue will no doubt be a hot topic throughout the day, even as an aside. Wonder if Sean Hannity or Lou Dobbs will bestow "happy birthday" wishes on the Hawaiian-born 44th President of the United States? And shouldn't Lou Dobbs be wary any time his name is even mentioned in the same sentence as that of Sean Hannity?

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For the record, this writer has been watching "Lou Dobbs Tonight" for years and rarely misses the program, finding Lou Dobbs' delivery and candor -- and his open critical skepticism of the federal government and many of its players and programs -- to be a most welcome escape from the self-righteous punditry and overtly biased reporting being performed and passed off as news on many of the news networks.

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Sources:

Associated Press
"The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," Comedy Central Network
The Observer
Gawker.com