Ed Brayton is a journalist, commentator and speaker. He is the co-founder and president of 
I think I've changed my view on Obama releasing the birth certificate now. My initial reaction was, why bother? It won't change anything. Most of the birthers will go on being birthers anyway as they are impervious to evidence and you cannot reason someone out of a position that is not based on reason in the first place. But perhaps that is exactly the point.
By releasing the birth certificate now, he does a couple of things. First, he peels off some portion of the birthers, the not terribly committed ones who saw it just as a good way to attack someone they dislike politically. That's why I'm predicting that the poll results will show around a 25% drop in the number of people who doubt that Obama was born in the United States.
But more importantly, those who are left will have to double down on the crazy in order to maintain their positions. This is basic human nature, it's one of the key ways that the brain handles cognitive dissonance. Faced with powerful evidence that shows one's views to be false, most people will not reevaluate their position and admit they were wrong; they will, instead, reassert the same position even more strongly than they did before -- and they will tie themselves into all kinds of knots in order to justify doing so.
We're going to see another example of this in a few weeks, I guarantee. Harold Camping is predicting the rapture on May 21. When May 22 comes and he is proven wrong, a small number of his followers will be disillusioned and will stop following him. The rest -- the vast majority -- will remain as convinced as ever and continue to follow him, reality be damned. And they will come up with all kinds of crazy explanations. Just like they did when Camping was wrong the first time he predicted the rapture.
When you've invested yourself emotionally in something, as the people have in all of these cases, it is extraordinarily difficult to ever admit you were wrong. Most people will do everything they possibly can to avoid having to do that and their delusions will deepen and become even more obvious to them even as the rest of the world shakes their heads and wonders how anyone could possibly believe what has been clearly disproven.
And I suspect Obama's advisers know all of this. I think they released the birth certificate for that very reason, because it will peel off a few of the marginal birthers but make the rest of them have to become even crazier, further distancing themselves from the rest of the population -- especially independent voters, who will now be even more appalled by the hard right and less likely to support a Republican in 2012.
And it also continues the bind for the Republicans. It almost forces anyone running against him to have to stop courting the birther vote. They can no longer take the "I take him at his word but I still don't know why he doesn't just release it and get it over with" position. That's no longer an option. It means they have to more clearly pick a side, no more do they have the luxury of kinda sorta agreeing that the birthers may have some legitimate concerns even if they don't think it's a big deal. They now have to pick a position and stick with it -- and either one they pick is a serious problem for them.
In the primaries, where the most extreme elements are likely to hold sway, the more they distance themselves from the birthers the less likely they are to win; but try to appease the birthers then and you lose with the centrist voters you need to win the general election. An excellent Catch-22.
A lot of Obama enthusiasts always seem to think that Obama is using some reverse psychology, double bluff, long-term strategy that is way above the thinking of regular people, even when he's transparently screwing up. But in this case, I think their actions may well end up being very shrewd politically.
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I think there's still a way for a triangulating Republican to cast aspersions on the President by expressing sympathy for the birthers' position ('He sure took a long time responding to it; I don't think you do that unless blah blah blah').
Posted by: cotton nero | April 29, 2011 11:21 AM
I had the same feeling. The far right will never vote for him anyway, this move is aimed at the middle who are observing the whole thing.
Posted by: Ashley Moore | April 29, 2011 11:27 AM
I dislike almost as many Obama policies as I support but you have to admit he's a masterful politician. I think the implosion of the wingnut end of the GoP has been coming for some time now and starting with Glen Beck's sidelining it's only going to take a few nudges like this to turn it into an avalanche. As ever the question is what advantage, if any, can the Dems turn this into?
Posted by: David Durant | April 29, 2011 11:28 AM
This week, some Republican lawmakers have asserted that, even if Obama is indeed a natural-born citizen, Islam is still an incontrovertible part of his background. Indeed, one lawmaker in particular has said that, in Indonesia, Obama was still exposed to Islamic learning from both his schools and his stepfather. Therefore, while he may be American, he still could have sympathy for Islam.
They're harping on the same implications of the birther story, just as before.
Posted by: SW | April 29, 2011 11:28 AM
Shorter version: There is only one document that will satisfy the birfers at this point -- Obma's death certificate.
Proof is in the Fox Nation thread on Michelle Obama's airplane deal the other day. They had to take down the thread because of the vile shit that commenters were posting.
Posted by: Fifth Dentist | April 29, 2011 11:30 AM
I'm starting to think there's something else in Obama's timing: by releasing his COLB this soon after Donald Trump jumped into the limelight and made birtherism his central bloviation-point, and then letting him loudly claim credit for "making Obama cave," Obama has singlehandedly given Trump permanent credibility as a Republican candidate -- and hung him and his buffoonery around the POG's neck for all time.
This could be pure genius -- if the Democrats can get off their traumatized asses and follow-up on the initial volley, that is. Victory will probably go to whoever manages to put their spin on it in the national media. The whole birther story is pure bullshit anyway, so it's all about perception, not facts.
Posted by: Raging Bee | April 29, 2011 11:31 AM
I hope you're right, but I would bet good money against it. In fact, I would not be surprised if the numbers went up.
I haven't seen any reason to believe this. I haven't seen a single Republican come out and say, "Well, it looks like the Birthers are clearly wrong". Maybe a few have, but if so, they're doing a good job laying low. What I have seen is lots of weasel words and sneers about it being a "distraction", which of course is the president's fault, not theirs.
Posted by: Steve Reuland | April 29, 2011 11:31 AM
There's one alternative policy I think Obama should have considered: promise the POG that if they support taxing the rich, funding at least some of our social programs, and re-regulating the banks, then he'll gladly release that COLB they promised would end the controversy once and for all.
Posted by: Raging Bee | April 29, 2011 11:35 AM
It almost forces anyone running against him to have to stop courting the birther vote. They can no longer take the "I take him at his word but I still don't know why he doesn't just release it and get it over with" position. That's no longer an option. It means they have to more clearly pick a side...
I think you were right the first time; the better realpolitik move would've been to not release it. Allow mainstream republican candidates to (continue to) court the birther vote "in the open," because that would've driven independent voters away from them.
I also think its a bit idealistic to think this is going to force conservative candidates to pick a side. Some might, but there are at least two strategies that I think will be more common among candidates. One - dog whistle the issue. "I've never questioned his legitimacy [nudge nudge wink wink]!" Two - flip flop between the primary and general. Claim you have doubts in the primary, then claim you don't in the general.
IMO either of these strategies will play to the independents better than the overt support that his non-release allowed. So even though I don't think Obama's move really forces anyone to 'pick sides,' I still see the release as a bad move.
Posted by: eric | April 29, 2011 11:35 AM
Birther hysteria has never been about his birth. Nor has it been about his being a secret Muslim, or socialist, or a fake graduate of Harvard Law, or an imposter of some kind, or a plant to destroy America. It's all about his race. The lily white wing of the Republican Party cannot conceive of a black man winning election to the presidency and occupying the White (to them it's the "White" House for a reason; it's not the black house) House. That requires more cognitive dissonance to accept as true than ignoring his birth certificate or his obvious Christian beliefs. So until Obama has a race change operation, during which he's re-rendered with the skin and facial features of a bonafide Caucasian, many Republicans will deny his reality.
Posted by: Keanus | April 29, 2011 11:39 AM
Absolutely, to the Right Birtherism is a matter of their righteous crusade against President Obama. He was always guilty of something to them. Republicans and conservatives have just confirmed this with their changing of Birther views and altering of the underpinnings of the whole ideology they have constructed.
Birtherism to the Right is a matter of faith. And like all matters faith-based, it can not be shaken by evidence, in fact it is merely strengthened by evidence as it allows the absolute crazies (Pamela Geller, Eric Bolling, Glenn Reynolds, FreeRepublic, Michelle Malkin) to debate and obfuscate the matter in theological terms.
Posted by: Grung_e_Gene | April 29, 2011 11:53 AM
I'd be a lot more excited about Obama's masterful political manipulations if he was using his resulting power to, you know, not act like a dick.
Posted by: Rory | April 29, 2011 11:59 AM
I think you are grossly overestimating the drop in people who doubt that Obama is a citizen and eligible to be president.
The latest two polls I could find said that nationally, 45% of Republicans don't think he was born in the USA and here in Iowa it is 48%. I will be very surprised if those numbers fall below 40%.
Posted by: Bob | April 29, 2011 12:02 PM
You changed your mind? What kind of pundit are you? Don't you mean, "I've always thought this, and it's typical of "those people" to lie about me and distort things I've said in the past"?
Posted by: James Hanley | April 29, 2011 12:03 PM
The real irony of the situation, unfortunately, is that a "send Obama to The Hague" campaign would probably work. But the extreme right wing can't play that card because their own boys would have to go first. Supporting and continuing torture is a much more serious crime than getting a blowjob in the oval office and lying about it. And I miss the irony of watching the extreme right wing suddenly come around and realize that torture was a crime all along... Oh, well, it was a nice fantasy.
I was a bit confused about some of what's going on until I had a brain-fart and realized that what we're seeing is a right-wing fight. Between the extreme right and the right. By which I mean, Obama. It all seems insane, so it's confusing until you realize that it is all insane and you've got lunatic screechy jackboot lickers complaining about getting handed the same treatment they'd like to give everyone. Ugh. Can't we let all the dope smokers out of the prisons and put the politicians in the vacated cells?
Posted by: Marcus Ranum | April 29, 2011 12:04 PM
On the contrary, Obama is a master strategist who is very successful in getting exactly the legislation that he wants. It's just that the legislation that he wants often differs significantly from the legislation that his followers want. As such, he uses tons of reverse psychology, double bluffs, etc.: it's just that he's using them against his followers to trick them into thinking that he's screwing up rather than actively working against them.
Yeah, he's unbelievably bad at getting the results that he says (in public) that he wants. But have you ever noticed how the results that he does end up with are invariably obscenely profitable to his Wall Street financial backers and advisors? Just a coincidence, I'm sure, since he actively attacks those Wall Street backers in his speeches, right?
Posted by: Miko | April 29, 2011 12:06 PM
"In the choice between changing one's mind and proving there's no need to do so, most people get busy on the proof." - John Kenneth Galbraith
Posted by: Ray Ingles | April 29, 2011 12:18 PM
"It's all about his race."
I think that's too simplistic. Race almost certainly plays a role, but remember that they went after Clinton with the same degree of zeal and mendacity. And if we had, say, president Edwards, I don't think for a minute they would accept him as the legitimate president. They would have just invented a different set of conspiracy theories and false accusations.
My take is that birtherism is a reaction to a reality that many conservatives are psychologically unable to accept. The conservative movement has spent the last 20-odd years loudly declaring how wonderful they are, how they represent True America, how awful and anti-American liberals are, etc. The White House, which represents the symbol of American power, is therefore rightfully and naturally their own. Any other outcome is a perversion and usurpation.
And then along comes a liberal Democrat who whips the stuffing out of them in an election and sets up residence in the White House. This did something far worse than simply deny them the power to feather their nests. It struck at their sense of identity. After having convinced themselves that they and they alone represent the true heart of America, this guy had the nerve to prove them wrong.
This of course creates a powerful sense of cognitive dissonance. And the only way to reconcile it (assuming they're not going to abandon their triumphalism and sense of entitlement) is to deny that Obama is the legitimate president of the United States. Birtherism is simply the most extreme manifestation of this form of denial. The absurd belief that ACORN stole the election is another. Most "normal" conservatives instead accuse the president of being a secret socialist/commie/nazi/muslim/anti-colonialist, so that while he may have won the election fair and square, Americans did not know what they were voting for, so they didn't really choose him over them. Either way, their sense of self-worth depends on denying that Obama is the real president, and is instead some aberration or usurper. And while race makes it easier to cast him as some sort of aberrant "other", they would be doing it regardless of his race.
Posted by: Steve Reuland | April 29, 2011 12:22 PM
Miko:
I think everybody gets that you have a hardon for Mr. Obama. I think everybody gets that you'e a hardon. It would be nice if you'd provide some smidgeon of proof to back up your bloviating bullshit. Like I said the other day, I'm sure you've got tons of comments archived where you said the same things about Bushco from early 2001--early 2009.
Posted by: democommie | April 29, 2011 12:26 PM
I've been thinking that for at least fifteen years now and I no longer have any hope for this happening. There's a large corpus of white, Christian, mostly middle-aged-to-elderly people who grew up thinking the country was primarily theirs, and now they see their country becoming irresistibly more diverse. They seem to have fallen into an impenetrable bubble of resentment and identity politics.
The only way that bubble pops is if some major crisis of Great Depression or Sectional Crisis proportions redraws the political boundaries. Otherwise, this nativist crap will be with us until its proponents die, and that's a few decades away.
Posted by: Scott Hanley | April 29, 2011 12:27 PM
@SW
Having sympathy/empathy for nearly a quarter of the world's population is just sooooo wrong. As we know from the GOP screechfest surrounding the president's use of the word "empathy" when describing an ideal judicial candidate, the GOP is against empathy (with the possible exclusion of white xians). Sociopathy being the opposite of empathy, we see how the GOP looks at the rest of the world.
It is thus unsurprising that we have proposals to offset tax cuts for the rich with loss of benefits to the poor, deciding that torture is OK, and lying/self-deluding our way into a war or two. Lack of empathy leads to dehumanizing the Other, which leads to abuse, torture, and war crimes.
Posted by: The Gregarious Misanthrope | April 29, 2011 12:31 PM
This week, some Republican lawmakers have asserted that, even if Obama is indeed a natural-born citizen, Islam is still an incontrovertible part of his background. Indeed, one lawmaker in particular has said that, in Indonesia, Obama was still exposed to Islamic learning from both his schools and his stepfather. Therefore, while he may be American, he still could have sympathy for Islam.
And in a post 9/11 environment, that should be considered a strength rather than a weakness. A president who actually has some personal experience with Muslims in a Muslim majority country.
Posted by: Tommykey | April 29, 2011 12:35 PM
Ed:
While always recognizing the fact that Barack Obama's near total lack of executive experience provided little evidence he was capable of being strategic upon becoming President, I was initially inclined to believe he and his team had the potential to be master strategists given the President's personal qualities which showed enormous aptitude for such coupled to how his campaign operated. Two years of observations now have me believing that he and his team are not superior strategists from a normative perspective though better than the previous three Presidents where strategy seemed to rarely enter their thoughts. I think a successful stint as governor of a large state would have provided the opportunities to hone his skills so I perceive a lack of experience, not a lack of aptitude.
However I still concede that I hold an arguably defective bias in thinking President Obama is playing a strategic game and quite good at it. That bias had me instinctively speculating that there was some grand strategy involved in releasing a copy of the original when it was first announced a few days ago. However the President's own admissions since the release reveal this was a purely reactive move on his part. From a tactical position it appears prudent, from a strategic perspective it appears no consideration was even given beyond the end of this fiscal year.
Posted by: Michael Heath | April 29, 2011 12:40 PM
Ed: "By releasing the birth certificate now, he does a couple of things. First, he peels off some portion of the birthers, the not terribly committed ones who saw it just as a good way to attack someone they dislike politically. That's why I'm predicting that the poll results will show around a 25% drop in the number of people who doubt that Obama was born in the United States."
Ed, we've already seen the birthers respond within the hour, dreaming up new variations ('why did he wait so long?', 'the document is forged', etc.).
Posted by: Barry | April 29, 2011 12:50 PM
FTFY
Posted by: D. C. Sessions | April 29, 2011 1:30 PM
Scott, I hate to burst your bubble but from where I stand the peak years for wingnuttery are 30-50. I'm not counting the ones younger than 30 simply because they're even more prone to going with the crowd than their elders, but if I'm looking for someone who isn't deep in the Fox hole I'm going to have to look to Boomers.
Posted by: D. C. Sessions | April 29, 2011 1:46 PM
My theory: Republicans are just bad losers. Say "checkmate" and they upset the board, accuse the opponent of cheating, stomp their feet, and say "It's a stupid game anyway."
Bad losers. Sometimes you just have to suck it up.
Posted by: feralboy12 | April 29, 2011 2:22 PM
So... wait. Hate to go OT, but can someone possibly explain to me why being "anti-colonial" is (meant by conservatives to be) bad? As far as I recall, the system of colonizing and enslaving non-European lands has resulted in insanity, war, murder, and genocide all over the world.
Posted by: Size | April 29, 2011 2:31 PM
Here's a hint: pick up any picture showing a confrontation between colonial powers and the anti-colonialists. Look carefully. Can you spot differences between the two groups?
Posted by: D. C. Sessions | April 29, 2011 2:34 PM
Size, at first I wondered if they didn't mean that Obama sr. was over-reacting against the horrors of colonialism (the same way some WWII veterans became frighteningly racist against orientals). Then I realised that they were worried that black people objecting to white oppression might set a precedent, and stopped trying to see them as decent human beings.
Posted by: stripey_cat | April 29, 2011 2:43 PM
'Deed I can, D.C. Thank you. I must have been having a moment of extreme density.
Posted by: Size | April 29, 2011 2:44 PM
There is another payoff for this shift of focus by Obama to the Birther theme. It is as simple as the news cycle. Every day the focus is on Obama he looks more important, anyone appearing in the media spotlight automatically gets to look important. This is nearly unconscious and most people who spend a lot of time exposed to it, most Americans, make the connection.
But the bonus doesn't stop there. Capturing news cycles and media attention is a zero-sum game. None of these systems are set up to handle more than one storyline at a time. Every second spent focused on Obama and Birthers is a second lost to the message the right want to get out there. It interrupts their storyline, rhythm, and momentum.
There is a lot to say for breaking up the drumbeat from the right. The GOP is good about scheduling runs up to an event to highlight a crisis they want to present as 'demanding immediate action' and then limiting options to items off the ideologue desert tray.
There is something to using the pulpit in the middle of one of these runups to push a part of the progressive agenda. Even an 'Oh ... look at the puppies' segue would work.
What would happen if after they have the usual sources make interlocking editorial comments, and they have someone on the financial side release a statement of concern , and they have primed the whispering chorus of 'something must be done' the president has a press conference along the lines of:
I'd like to take a moment to highlight the plight of America's working poor ... and how the privatization of their modest retirement funds has taken away all hope of living with dignity in their old age ... and how through no fault of their own, while money mangers were reaping rich rewards for plundering these retirement accounts ...
I bring this forward to make sure that economic fairness and justice remain a high priority in this nation. That we are a nation where thieves and plunderers are severely punished and are not allowed to keep their ill-gotten gains and hardworking Americans can enjoy their later years in health and dignity.
--- We return you now to regular scheduled programming. ---
And the talking head looks at the talking point he is supposed to insert into his banter and realizes that at this time and place he is going to look like a monster for blaming the poor for the present economic hardship. He discreetly lays that page aside.
And the right-wing noise machine has to completely restart its propaganda run up. For forty-eight hours they are struck speechless. They are now a full week behind their schedule.
Posted by: Art | April 29, 2011 2:53 PM
Some racists have just moved the goalposts. Now they're slinging mud about President Obama's other qualities.
However, it was very sweet to see the family of the doctor that delivered him identifying their father's signature on Mr. Obama's long birth certificate!
Posted by: Monado, FCD | April 29, 2011 3:51 PM
A pov from a black woman, stated most eloquently:
http://holybulliesandheadlessmonsters.blogspot.com/2011/04/n-show-me-you-papers.html
Posted by: TomTallis | April 29, 2011 5:41 PM
As ever the question is what advantage, if any, can the Dems turn this into?
I thought everyone was well aware that the only thing the Dems are good for is snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
Posted by: Aquaria | April 29, 2011 6:29 PM
Re #33. About family of doctor who delivered Obama: The Foxies were on that the 1st day the COLB was released as PROOF the document must be a fake. How could he never have mentioned that he 'delivered the president!?!?!'
You can find the video at Media Matters. It's hysterical. All the little bobbing Fox heads seem to think he popped out with the presidential seal on his behind ... and why wouldn't the doctor have said something about this miracle to his family?
Posted by: Gerry L | April 29, 2011 6:40 PM
Re #33. About family of doctor who delivered Obama: The Foxies were on that the 1st day the COLB was released as PROOF the document must be a fake. How could he never have mentioned that he 'delivered the president!?!?!'
You can find the video at Media Matters. It's hysterical. All the little bobbing Fox heads seem to think he popped out with the presidential seal on his behind ... and why wouldn't the doctor have said something about this miracle to his family?
Posted by: Gerry L | April 29, 2011 6:43 PM
David,
I have to disagree. I consider Obama to be rather hit-and-miss as a politician. At times he's been quite exceptional, but at other times he has failed miserably, often allowing his opponents to redefine major issues in utterly idiotic ways.
----------
Miko,
Could you save us all a lot of time and simply submit:
"Government bad, all government bad, anarchy good!"
Instead of pretending to have an actual evidence based argument, it's getting more than a bit tedious and repetitive.
Posted by: dogmeat | April 29, 2011 8:35 PM
Posted by: sidhe3141 | April 30, 2011 3:40 AM
Sweet! All the Christians magically disappear on my birthday this year!
Posted by: Eric in Korea | April 30, 2011 7:10 AM
Eric - "Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you..." :) - Dingo
Posted by: DingoJack | April 30, 2011 9:07 AM
Could all those who think Obama is a masterful strategist please provide the evidence for their claims?
I do think Obama has some strategically smart people working for him, but overall I don't find his administration to have demonstrated that much strategic cleverness. Certainly his main reputation among political observers seems to be that of a capitulator, rather than a winner.
Posted by: James Hanley | April 30, 2011 9:20 AM
"Certainly his main reputation among political observers seems to be that of a capitulator, rather than a winner.
Posted by: James Hanley | April 30, 2011 9:20 AM"
Oh, yeah! Well, that's 'cuz he's got you lookin' at what he's doing on th front page, while he's using his Acme Wily E. Kenyafascistic saw to cut a hole in the floor on which you're standing!
Posted by: democommie | April 30, 2011 11:46 AM
Thanks Ed for an interesting read but as a former journalist, the bias remains & this is not from the objective viewpoint IMHO. Of course this is a blog & not an officially-sanctioned media article. I too follow politics & POTUS is no exception, but this birther issue has ignited much fury when Constitutional requirements seems controverted to many and fraud is suggested.
As to the May 21st date of Rapture & October 21 annihilation of the Universe, as Bro. Camping states repeatedly & emphatically, he is NOT the authority, however the Holy Bible IS~! There are certainly thousands ONLINE & ten of thousands or hundreds of thousands around the world who have ALSO lined up (with Holy Scripture) the recently UNcovered TIMELINE of history found in the Holy Bible~! ONLY Holy God through THE Holy Spirit can OPEN the 'Spiritual eyes & ears' of those HE intends to SAVE. Reading a blog or website does NOT give salvation but merely points the seeker of Truth to Biblical answers to age-old mysteries & questions which mankind has NEVER understood until the books were UNsealed which the prophet Daniel was commanded by Holy God to 'seal until the End-Times'. We Believers are PRAYING & will continue to send forth the WARNING message as 'watchmen~messengers' as commanded by the Holy Bible & God himself.
Mockers & scoffers won't have long to wait for the proof that the Holy Bible is indeed the "WORD" of God & 100% true & trustworthy. God have MERCY on us ALL as the world enters the MOST pivotal time in human history. AMEN~!
Posted by: Rapture5212011 | April 30, 2011 7:47 PM
Ruptures5212011 and others are LOLMAO in that they use reality of humanity ruining the earth leading to our destruction as proof of their mythical gawds, when most religions have someone making a prophecy of KNOWN HUMAN WEAKNESS FOR GREED AND AVARICE. Call it sin or natural specie tendencies, but saying adherence to a strict theocracy is the salvation is circular reasoning as those believing the same thing will work together to save themselves, regardless the objective truth/falsity of their views of reality. And the victors or survivors write history, til truth comes along. Like those surviving the Black Plague espoused all sorts of crazy crap as God's truth salvation being the cure but we now understand changes in cleanliness and attacking the true transfer of the disease brought 'salvation'-survival.
Posted by: megan | April 30, 2011 8:07 PM
Wait a minute. This isn't "an officially-sanctioned media article"? I an SO disillusioned!
Rapture5212011 - I assume you will be commenting here on May 22nd (or certainly on Oct. 22nd) admitting you were full of shit, right?
Posted by: Taz | April 30, 2011 10:15 PM
Rapturepony5212011 and to infinity and BEYOND!!!
Do you have any, like, really good swag, dude? I'm happy if you get hoovered up by Skydaddy, but I'd be happier if we had really good, "Left Behind" swag.
Posted by: democommie | May 1, 2011 12:02 AM
Rapture5212011,
Let's make a deal, if the world ends on the 21st, I'll bow before you at the pearly gates, just before I'm jet-canned to hell, and proclaim your spiritual truth over my unholy dirt.
If, on the other hand, the world doesn't end on the 21st, Come back here on the 22nd and verbally prostrate the fact that you believed a lie that's clearly false, and that Camping is either delusional or deceitful.
Posted by: ragarth | May 1, 2011 7:40 AM
Sweet! All the Christians magically disappear on my birthday this year!
Posted by: supratall | May 1, 2011 9:28 AM
I think that Obama released it when he did, just before the Correspondents dinner in DC, so the commedians would have a chance to make jokes about it.
Posted by: daedalus2u | May 1, 2011 9:51 AM