"Birthers" Are Liars

One persistent myth perpetuated by the "Birthers" is that Obama's grandmother said that he was born in Kenya.

The fact is that, In an interview with a street preacher named Ron McRae, Sarah Obama, the second wife of the president's grandfather, did say she was there, in Kenya, for her grandson's birth.

Unfortunately for the Birthers, it was the result of a miscommunication and, as soon as McRae started pressing the issue, Obama's family realized what had happened and corrected him. Most Birthers simply ignore the corrections, excising them from audio and transcripts of the conversation posted online.

The relevant portion of the interview is as follows:

"MCRAE: Could I ask her about his actual birthplace? I would like to see his birthplace when I come to Kenya in December. Was she present when he was born in Kenya?

TRANSLATOR: Yes. She says, yes, she was, she was present when Obama was born.

MCRAE: When I come in December. I would like to come by the place, the hospital, where he was born. Could you tell me where he was born? Was he born in Mombasa?

TRANSLATOR: No, Obama was not born in Mombasa. He was born in America.

MCRAE: Whereabouts was he born? I thought he was born in Kenya.

TRANSLATOR: No, he was born in America, not in Mombasa.

MCRAE: Do you know where he was born? I thought he was born in Kenya. I was going to go by and see where he was born.

TRANSLATOR: Hawaii. Hawaii. Sir, she says he was born in Hawaii. In the state of Hawaii, where his father was also learning there. The state of Hawaii."

Clearly, McRae asked Obama's grandmother, through a translator: "Was she present when he was born in Kenya?" The grandmother answered: "yes, she was present when Obama was born".

But when McRae pressed the question as to where in Kenya Obama was born -- Mombasa? -- the grandmother immediately corrected McRae and said: "No ... he was born in America. He was born in Hawaii, in the state of Hawaii, where his father was also learning there. The state of Hawaii."

What phony charlatans the Birthers are to quote only the first sentence of the grandmother's response, and to omit her clarification which followed immediately. She answered "Yes" to the "When" part of the question but "No" to the "Where" portion.

Not to mention the announcements of Obama's birth in Honolulu newspapers the day after he was born. Those were official announcements placed in the newspapers by the Hawaii Department of Health, as is the Department's customary procedure -- not by friends or relatives.