Howard Kurtz of CNN is not a reliable source

Posted Mon, Jul 27, 2009 at 12:59 pm

If you think Howard Kurtz of CNN and the Washington Post is credible, please see the following. On yesterday's "Reliable Sources" program, he said the following (video attached):

Is it responsible for (Lou Dobbs) and others to go on the air, talk about these claims, demand proof, when we have seen a copy of the birth certificate? When Hawaii officials say that Barack Obama was born there in 1961?

If Kurtz is credible, you should be able to find direct quotes from Hawaiian officials confirming Obama was born there, right?

So, where are those quotes?

If Howard Kurtz is telling the truth, then you should be able to find clear, direct statements from Hawaiian officials like, "Obama was born here." Right? Can anyone find any clear, direct statements from Hawaiian officials that would back up what Kurts says?

In fact, Howard Kurtz is misleading you. No Hawaiian official will confirm that Obama was born there, because it's against the law to reveal private information.

The only possible thing Kurtz can hang his hat on is a quote from a spokeswoman who isn't credible (Janice Okubo), who admits she isn't qualified to discuss this matter, and who now won't confirm the quote. That's it.

Despite what Kitty Pilgrim of CNN says, Hawaii's governor Linda Lingle has never said Obama was born there. A form letter Lingle's office sends out can be seen at that link. In the letter, her office points out that it would be a violation of Hawaiian law to disclose such information. If she said Obama was born there, then she's broken Hawaiian law. Would Kurtz like to accuse Hawaii's governor of breaking the law?

Lingle hasn't confirmed he was born there, and neither has any other Hawaiian official.

In fact, Hawaiian officials have repeatedly stressed that it would be against the law for them to reveal personal information. That includes verifying whether Obama was born there; see the Pilgrim link above for the form letter.

The bottom line is that Howard Kurtz is not a reliable source.

He says Hawaiian officials have confirmed that Obama was born there, when they have not.
In fact, they've repeatedly said they can't confirm whether he was born there because it would be illegal.

No matter whether you support Obama or not and no matter your position on this issue, it's clear that Howard Kurtz misled his viewers.

Howard Kurtz needs to print and broadcast a correction, but he's probably not going to do it unless enough people write him and let him know he's wrong.

Please take action now by sending him and his editors polite and brief emails focused only on the specific issue raised in this post.

Please send polite emails that are only about this specific issue to rick.davis *at* turner.com and ombudsman *at* washpost.com. You can also contact Kurtz at twitter dot com/HowardKurtz and using this form. Please don't just read this and move on. Take a few minutes and at the least send emails linking to this post. And, send this post to all your friends and urge them to take action.

Tags: 
obama citizenship
cnn
howard kurtz

Comments

Fred Donaldson (not verified)

Mon, 07/27/2009 - 19:45

Howard Kurtz, like many others on cable news, is not a reporter of facts, but of nuances and opinions. How someone looked at a press conference is more important than what they said. And what they said is reported without checking if the statement was true. This is not evil, but lazy. Evil would require more smarts than exhibited by most of these talking heads. - fwdpost.com

Eric (not verified)

Mon, 07/27/2009 - 21:11

Mr. Kurtz, My first-born son was born in Hawaii. His Hawaiian Birth Certificate (BC)is very different from his Certificate Of Live Birth (COLB). His BC has details about the hospital, the attending physician, and his parents (us!). His COLB has none of these details and looks almost exactly like what you call the BC of President Obama available on the internet. Would you please correct your statements to make a clear distinction between a Hawaiian COLB and a Hawaiian BC. I was born in Pennsylvania and have a PA BC. If my parents had taken me to HI as a young child, they could have obtained a HI COLB for me. Sincerely, Eric

Michael Bough (not verified)

Tue, 07/28/2009 - 03:16

Soo...the State of Hawaii, in providing the only legal information they could, which was that they had a COLB on record, didn't confirm Obama's story, which he confirmed with his COLB? Are you really that stupid? Wow.

Lava Lee Pyre (not verified)

Tue, 07/28/2009 - 09:16

"I, Dr. Chiyome Fukino, director of the Hawaii State Department of Health, have seen the original vital records maintained on file by the Hawai'i State Department of Health verifying Barrack Hussein Obama was born in Hawaii and is a natural-born American citizen. I have nothing further to add to this statement or my original statement issued in October 2008 over eight months ago...."

petty bourgeois (not verified)

Tue, 07/28/2009 - 12:06

"Are you really that stupid?" No. The Obamaniacs would fall into that category, troll. Let's see the long form since your fearless leader proclaims to be running a transparent administration.

Fred Donaldson (not verified)

Tue, 07/28/2009 - 15:18

Everyone agrees he is a citizen, since he was born to an American woman. The question is natural born, and some might question if that is an arcane provision anyway. It is the height of lies to say his mother wanted him born in Hawaii so he could get the benefits of U.S. citizenship. The U.S. code states that citizens include: •Any one born outside the United States, if one parent is an alien and as long as the other parent is a citizen of the U.S. who lived in the U.S. for at least five years (with military and diplomatic service included in this time). Obama's mother was born and raised in the U.S. So, the conspiracy would be that his mother knew that he would run for president, so she forged his birth certificate when he was a baby?

Fred Dawes (not verified)

Wed, 07/29/2009 - 03:34

more monkeys

Leave it to Beaner (not verified)

Wed, 07/29/2009 - 14:42

Howard Kurtz of CNN is a reliable source.......not of truth, but of fiber.

Fred Dawes (not verified)

Sat, 08/01/2009 - 16:32

mass monkeys running down the road to hell.

Anthony (not verified)

Sun, 01/10/2010 - 22:14

Let us look at the possible conclusions. An individual has posted a "carnival" birth certificate on the internet to suggest that they were born in one of the State of America. However, state officials has thus far done nothing by avoid there responsibilities for over a year and a half. No, an individual has posted a forged birth certificate on the internet, however for over a year and a half the issuing office (a department of one of the State if America) has thus far refused to take legal action. See when people engage in conspiracy theories they just don't see the obvious flaws in their arguments. Seeing State officials and law enforcement agency act quickly against both ordinary citizen and politicians a like make what was proposed impossible. Obama is a natural-born citizen, as he was born on American soil. There are other cases where he could be a natural born citizen, however being born in Hawaii is the most obvious.