Trump's Birther Buffoonery

I don't know if Donald Trump will seek the GOP nomination. Quite frankly I hope he doesn't because he really comes across as quite a buffoon. This was especially evident when he was discussing President Obama and the birther issue with Bill O'Reilly last night. I couldn't believe it when he said he had never seen a birth announcement. I guess that means he's never seen an obituary either.

The objective for 2012 is to see that President Obama is defeated at the ballot box. So let's say for argument's sake that Trump is a presidential candidate whether as the GOP standard bearer or as an independent (because he can certainly afford that option.) I can't see how Trump gets to the White House by questioning whether Obama was born in this country. Yes, of course, there are people who believe Obama wasn't born in the United States and we know that those people aren't going to vote for him anyway.

But what about the people who voted for Obama in 2008 but voted for Bush in 2004? What about the young people who cast their first vote for Obama and might now be having second thoughts? And what about first time voters who might be on the fence? You are not going to convince these people to cast a ballot for Trump if he insists on talking about where Barack Obama was on August 4, 1961. In fact, the more Trump talks about it the more he comes across as an unserious person who will ensure Obama's re-election. Whether we like it or not, Barack Obama was elected President of the United States. If Republicans and conservatives are serious about ensuring there's no second term then we would be wise to focus our attention on what Obama has said and done from January 20, 2009 onward.

Sarah Palin hit the nail on the head last month when she said questions concerning Obama's birth were distracting and annoying. The same could be said for Donald Trump.