Media Matters lies: Hawaii has not authenticated the certificate on Obama's site (Corsi, Dobbs, FAIR)

Media Matters for America offers a smorgasbord of smears in "At "hate group" event, Dobbs embraces discredited birther Jerome Corsi" (mediamatters.org/research/200909150042, not bylined):

On his radio show -- broadcast from the anti-immigration organization Federation for American Immigration Reform's (FAIR) "Hold Their Feet to the Fire" legislative advocacy event -- Lou Dobbs interviewed WorldNetDaily staff reporter Jerome Corsi, who Dobbs described as "a pretty good guy to talk to" about immigration issues... ...On Fox News, Corsi claimed that Obama's presidential campaign "has a false, fake birth certificate posted on their website." In fact, the Hawaii Department of Health has confirmed that the birth certificate posted online by the Obama campaign is "a valid Hawaii state birth certificate" and has called the speculation about Obama's citizenship "pretty ridiculous." [Fox News' Fox & Friends, 8/15/08]

The word "confirmed" links to the Politifact article discussed here (#4) in which Hawaii DOH spokeswoman Janice Okubo says the following about the picture from Obama's site that Poitifact emailed to her: "It's a valid Hawaii state birth certificate". That solves that, right? Except, later in the article Politifact offers this completely contradictory Okubo quote:

And about the copy we e-mailed her for verification? "When we looked at that image you guys sent us, our registrar, he thought he could see pieces of the embossed image through it." Still, she acknowledges: "I don't know that it's possible for us to even say beyond a doubt what the image on the site represents."

So, Media Matters is lying: she admits that it might not be valid. She can't even say whether it's an actual Hawaiian certificate, much less whether the information on it is correct.

And, on an ironic note, last month Corsi interviewed Okubo and she admitted that Hawaii has not authenticated the picture shown on Obama's site.

Regarding the "pretty ridiculous" bit, it's from 'Obama Birth Certificate Fuss "Ridiculous"' by David Morgan of CBS News (cbsnews.com/blogs/2008/08/16/politics/horserace/entry4355527.shtml):

"Our state law is very firm on information on vital records," Health Department spokeswoman Janice Okubo told the Advertiser. "You cannot receive someone else's birth certificate - to protect the person's confidential information." As for the persistent accusations that Obama is not a U.S. citizen, Okubo replied, "It's pretty ridiculous."

Those quotes are contradictory: she says she can't release information, and then Morgan implies that she did release information by confirming he was born there. The second quote was probably intentionally taken out of context and she was referring to the concern others have about this issue. She has admitted to me that she isn't qualified to speak to this matter and that she's not qualified to authenticate certificates.

Comments

YES It can't be obama was born in Kenya after all BO Was born in kenya but the questions people must ask is obama a Luo or a Kikuyu his father was part of the Kanu political party and was known to be part of the stone bowl people's movement in 1960 and 1962 he knew bantu and his father and grand father of obama was well known to be part of the KCA. his grandfather was a so called freedom fighter against the british during world war two and the removal of white families if you know what i mean by removal? or elimination if you know what i mean? BO Father is said to have had some UK soldiers Heads on his pole outside of his home or hut.