The 2010 State of the Bunion Address: A Golden Opportunity Squandered

Two words “You lie” became the first major shot fired in the health care legislation wars on Capitol Hill. Congressman Joe Wilson (R – SC) did the unthinkable during a televised September 2009 White House speech to Congress, calling putative President Barack Obama out regarding whether illegal aliens would be covered under a government takeover of care.  It was the first time in memory whereby an elected official rebuked the top office holder in America (and via Internet – the whole world) to hear.

Rep. Wilson initially took heat for his comments from all sides and even apologized to the White House but in the end was exonerated as Americans found out that illegals would indeed not be exempted from what was in the House version of this bill, according to numerous researchers.  However, within hours of his blurt, donations to his anticipated opponent’s 2010 election campaign began pouring in.  Nevertheless, because the truth did come out, even with an apology that was deemed as unnecessary, contributions came in just as quickly to Congressman Wilson’s anticipated reelection campaign.

Fast forward 4 months to the annual State of the Union address on Wednesday and two words “Not true” (see clip here) were heard quietly emanating from the mouth of Supreme Court Justice Sam Alito upon hearing Mr. Obama condemn last week’s landmark decision reversing a total ban on corporate campaign contributions.  Public sentiment, particularly from the political left, has somewhat weighed in heavily against Justice Alito – the leftists in the U.S. Senate did everything but crucify him during his confirmation hearings when Republicans had control of the Senate.

But even the arguably Obama friendly Associated Press more or less conceded to Mr. Alito; that foreigners have long been forbidden from donating to American elections. And a writer at the blog of the very Obama friendly New York Times also went on the record to correct another error they believe came forth from Mr. Obama’s lips.

Regardless of whether all the above is factual, it probably would be wise for the White House to refrain from further discussion of Justice Alito, particularly the part on foreign contributions.  After all, it appears the Obama campaign picked up some tidy sums of foreign money and took no steps, according to a link to its website, to ban such donations.

Silence is golden, so they say.  That is, if you’re the White House.

”You lie” and “Not true”, four words that have riveted the White House and its remaining allies.  One might call these words “bunions” that now require careful treading since there isn’t much taste across America’s political spectrum for illegals to get free health care, let alone amnesty, especially since there is steadily growing skepticism to much of anything coming from the mouth of America’s putative president, the latest being this nearly unprecedented public rebuke of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Or what about the four words that have come from the White House and have come to be a growing political staple of Mr. Obama – “Let me be clear”?

Another favorite – “make no mistake”.

Well, it appears the vast majority of America believes Mr. Obama has been quite clear, and they do not like what he is saying.  And they believe he has made countless mistakes, perhaps even deliberately, on so many fronts.

“Words, just words”, another quote Mr. Obama has also been known to use.  However, he didn’t originate that phrase and the accompanying quotes.

As Rush Limbaugh likes to say, “Words mean things”.  Whether they do for Barack Obama is open to conjecture.

But what was truly absent in the State of the Bunion address were four words that would have indeed meant something – four words that have been reverberating on countless Internet websites, though all but abandoned by the so-called mainstream media and much of the conservative media as well.

These four words can change an election and even remove a sitting president midstream.  It would have done so in the past.  These four words could have been spoken by any Congressman or senator on Wednesday and would have infinitely eclipsed, “You lie” and “Not true”.

These four words can change a nation or perhaps awaken a nation, even the entire Western world.  After all, as the saying goes, the eyes of the world are upon us.

If the Jan. 19^th politically stunning election of Republican Scott Brown to replace the late Sen. Ted Kennedy in the U.S. Senate was “the shot heard around the world”, symbolizing the start of the Revolutionary War, the uttering of these four words in the presence of Mr. Obama would have been “the cannon heard around the world”.

”Where’s the birth certificate” would have been that cannon.  Had anyone in that room Wednesday night been as bold as Rep. Wilson (or Justice Alito), be it a Congressman, senator, justice, military officer, reporter or other individual present, and spoke those four words, it would have likely forced the issue that Congress has all but been silent on since the debut of the 111^th Congress.  It would have forced the media to cover the matter for those of us who are dubious as to Obama meeting the presidential requirement of being a natural born citizenship, according to Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution.  It would have all but vindicated those of whom the media (and many on the right) have labeled as “birthers”.  It would have been the message the public has been waiting for, both those of who know about the controversy and those currently in the dark.

And it would likely have stunned America’s putative president into total silence as no response other than a firm and immediately crystal clear, “Yes, I am and here’s the proof”, would have been convincing.

Rep. Wilson and Justice Alito wouldn’t be able to so much as hold a match, let alone a candle, to those politically earth shattering words.

Anyone speaking those four words would no doubt face the political firing squad.  But that person would be doing America the greatest service in modern American history.

Yes, the rejoinder from the left and others would say how horribly rude and inappropriate it is to interrupt America ’s (putative) president while he’s speaking; after all, this is supposedly his time.  But the response should be as follows – what would our Founding Fathers say? Would they be silent when the most powerful man in America (and the world) is, while speaking to Congress and the nation, destroying America’s moral and political infrastructure and suspected of not being natural born, thus in violation of the U.S. Constitution?

Something tells the Founders would raise holy hell.  Why should we do anything less?

”Where’s the birth certificate” has been the theme and bumper sticker of World Net Daily, the website and group that has pounded this message over and over, including thru a steadily growing billboard campaign, and has more news items relative to Obama’s extremely questionable natural born citizenship than any other site.

And this issue is picking up steam, if only modestly and indirectly so, in Congress and at the state level.  Here are a few examples of current and past public officials calling or once calling for Obama to release his birth certificate:

1. In Arizona – at the state level
2. In Arizona – at the Congressional level, though at this point rescinded
3. In Arizona – from a former Congressman
4. In Georgia – from a current Congressman, and the first directly to do so
5. In Texas – from a former House Majority Leader

And there is a bill in Congress that would require future presidents to display qualifying credentials, though it doesn’t require the current occupant to produce any documentation.

The public must know whether Barack Obama is a natural born U.S. citizen.  An original birth certificate would all but solve that problem.  But the fact is America not only has no birth certificate on Mr. Obama; we have no school records, no medical records, legal transcripts, essays, theses, nothing.  So the issue is not just whether Mr. Obama has a birth certificate in order to determine U.S. citizenship.  The Constitution does not mandate such for a president, though, as most of America knows, it is the traditional way of determining the facts surrounding an individual’s birth.  It solely requires three prerequisites: (1) the individual be at least 35 years of age (2) a resident of the country for 14 years and (3) a natural born citizen.  The issue at hand is (3). It is not a matter of being a “birther”.  It is a matter of being an uncompromising adherent to the U.S. Constitution.

Considering the occupant of the Oval Office once called our Constitution “flawed”, it is entirely appropriate and necessary that the public insist that Mr. Obama release the details surrounding his birth through an original certified copy of his birth certificate, not the one floating around the Internet that has been thoroughly debunked by countless authorities.  For Congress and the courts to do nothing reflects a “flawed” view that the Constitution’s mandates are irrelevant today, showing great disdain of the history surrounding America .

President Bill Clinton told America in his 1998 State of the Union address, “The state of our union is strong”.  While that point is somewhat debatable, such is diametrically opposite today because there is no union of the American people behind Barack Obama’s putative presidency. Americans of all political persuasions largely stood behind President Clinton during his 8 years in office, even during his numerous scandals.  His judgments and arguably liberal policies made for tough times for many Americans.  But America was united in the fact President Clinton was a tried and true natural born U.S. citizen and that we could unite with him, regardless of differences, until the next presidential election.

However, by virtue of millions of Americans, if not at least half the nation, questioning whether Barack Obama was born in Kenya or some place else besides the United States and not getting straight answers, let alone any, from his administration, one will come to the conclusion that the state of our union is fractured.  After all, how can we be unified when there is a distinct possibility that the nation’s assumed president is not natural born?

Americans are unified and stay unified under American presidents.  It’s difficult for Americans to get behind the current occupant of that position if there is so much as a distinct possibility that he is a foreigner masquerading as an American.  Skin color and race are not the issues.  But bowing to a Saudi Muslim leader, speaking to a Muslim audience in Egypt and not putting one’s hand before his heart during the playing of the national anthem sends strong signals that Americans have grave doubts as to Mr. Obama’s loyalties and dubious U.S. citizenship.  His refusal to address his citizenship in the many lawsuits filed against him only serves to exacerbate the crisis.  Therefore, it is up to our putative president to respond to this matter expeditiously, that is, if he seeks unity from the American people.

It shouldn’t be up to the American people to prove whether Mr. Obama is constitutionally eligible to be in the position he sits in.  It is up to him to provide credible evidence that he is. Until he does, the state of our union will never be strong because there essentially is no union of the American people.  And if Congress doesn’t address it, then Congress is contributing to the state of disunion in our country.

This collective bunion hurts all of America .  We need to excise it now.

”Where’s the birth certificate” – it’s not too late to demand America’s putative president to “show and tell” and if he doesn’t’, then the American people must insist Congress do its job by requiring presentation of evidence of natural born citizenship for the public to view.  If that is not possible, then Congress must promptly move to unseat Mr. Obama.

”Where’s the birth certificate” – not just “words”.  It’s documentation.  America needs it now.  If the Constitution means anything to our elected officials, they will work to get it.  Otherwise, the state of America ’s bunion will continue growing.  It already hurts badly. And it will continue to be more painful.

Take it from someone just coming off a serious foot injury