>>>>>>>>So why, all of a sudden, now?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>That's an excellent question. He should have let the "controversy" rage as long as possible. Let the birthers waste their time on something known to be completely harmless.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>I bet if they thought Trump could ride it to the nomination they would have <bg>
>>>>>
>>>>>It was probably a recommendation from a group of policy wonks/wonkettes in subbasement 3C somewhere. Propagandists know that if you keep repeating lies often enough, people start to believe them. The birther issue has been going on so long that probably a significant fraction of the US electorate believes it.
>>>>>
>>>>>So, I was wrong - the birther controversy has not been completely harmless to the Dems. Party strategists probably decided a nice round 18 months or so will be needed to reverse that damage, and allow the tide of resentment among Republicans that they were duped by their own to rise as high as possible.
>>>>>
>>>>>On the other hand, I may be blaming malice for that which should be attributed to stupidity :-/
>>>>
>>>>Yeah - who ever verifies information on a job applicant anyway.
>>>
>>>Do I detect a smidgen of resentment? < bg >
>>
>>Reality. For the most powerful public position in the US, we've demonstrated that employment qualifications are a joke that can be ignored (at least for years).
>
>Frankly, where he was born was my least concern about Obama's qualifications <s>

It wasn't my least concern, but it was a concern.