Obama citizenship theories a 'distraction'
The Age
Saturday February 19, 2011
Karl Rove, the former adviser to George Bush, is all for "birther" control, urging Republicans not to be distracted by theories about Barack Obama's citizenship in the lead-up to the 2012 presidential race.But the issue continues to draw oxygen from the political debate with some prominent Republicans still unable to concede publicly that Mr Obama was born in Hawaii and is therefore eligible to be president.In a TV interview, Tea Party-backed Republican Michele Bachmann was the latest Republican to say only that Mr Obama should be taken "at his word" about whether he was born a US citizen."Can you just state very clearly that President Obama is a Christian and he is a citizen of the United States?" the host asked Ms Bachmann on Good Morning America."Well, that isn't for me to state, that is for the President to state," she replied.A poll taken earlier in the week of 400 registered Republican voters showed that 51 per cent did not believe the President was born in the US and a further 21 per cent said they were unsure, despite Hawaiian officials repeatedly insisting that Mr Obama was born in the state on August 4, 1961.Mr Rove told Fox News: "Within our party, we've got to be very careful about allowing these people who are the birthers and the 9/11-deniers to get too high a profile and say too much without setting the record straight."Mr Rove was backed by presidential aspirant Sarah Palin. "Those are distractions," she said.€“Mr Obama will make a state visit to Britain in May after accepting an invitation from the Queen, Buckingham Palace says. His wife, Michelle, will join him on the three-day trip on May 24-26, which will precede a G8 summit in France.
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