Obama Nominates Richardson, Faces Citizenship Status Challenge

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Dec 3, 2008 6:15PM

Another day, another Obama press conference to announce a cabinet nomination. Today, the President-Elect nominated New Mexico governor and former Democratic presidential opponent Bill Richardson (why'd you shave the beard, Bill? We dug it!) as commerce secretary. Richardson has previously served as U.N. Ambassador and energy secretary in the Bill Clinton administration. Obama said of Richardson, "During his time in state government and Congress, and in two tours of duty in the Cabinet, Bill has seen from just about every angle what makes our economy work and what keeps it from working better."

Meanwhile, New York anti-tax activist Robert L. Schulz has taken out ads in the Chicago Tribune this week on behalf of the We The People Foundation to question the authenticity of Obama's Hawaiian birth certificate and thereby challenging the legality of Obama's election as President. While similar challenges have been dismissed, Schulz's continues to press the issue. Schulz claims his group never gets involved in politics - "We avoid it like the plague." - which is obviously bullshit. Exhibit A? This ad. The Trib, who said the ad met their standards, plays fact-check with the ad's claims.

•The birth form released by Obama was "an unsigned, forged and thoroughly discredited" live birth form, Schulz says.

Last summer, Obama's campaign presented a digital copy of his certificate of live birth. After critics questioned its authenticity, staff at FactCheck.org, a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, said they had seen, held and examined the actual birth certificate.

•"Hawaiian officials will not confirm" that Obama was born in their state, Schulz says.

Initially, Hawaiian officials said that privacy laws prevented them from releasing a copy or confirming that Obama's copy was authentic. But in late October as questions persisted, Hawaii's health director and head of vital statistics reviewed Obama's birth certificate in the department's vault and vouched for its authenticity.

Schulz said the ads cost tens of thousands of dollars and were paid for by contributions made by supporters. Well that's money well spent. Sorry, kids, it ain't happenin'.