Gotta respect the guy for putting it all on the line on this...

... but I'd be shocked if there's any there there.

Not a citizen?

It's clear there's something they're hiding -- but I'd guess it's something like the name on his original Birth Certificate. Perhaps his mother named him "Barry Soetoro" or something.

Once again, I think this is a time waster.

FWIW Berg is a longtime conspiracy theorist, and the birth certificate was verified over the summer by a number of parties, including WorldNetDaily.

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=73214

David Freddoso rejects Berg's theory entirely:

http://rightwingnews.com/mt331/2008/09/an_interview_with_david_freddo.php

Berg used to play games with Bush and Cheney, by the way:

http://screwloosechange.blogspot.com/2007/01/philip-j-berg-nutbar-supreme.html

It's entertaining, but I think people who take this seriously are in for a major disappointment.

I think Berg is just looking for headlines.

Fear
Uncertainty
Doubt

===

BTW the factcheck.org is an Annenberg site. WND needs to dig deeper into its due diligence. So Obama's pals give the birth certificate the okie doak? How about open court?

I'm not saying there is anything here. The question then is why doesn't Mr. Obama produce the documents in court and end the charade?

I think he's enjoying the way the controversy plays out, because it does not hurt him at all politically. In fact, the more pissed off his enemies on the right get, the more it energizes his base, and generates sympathy from the center.

It's interesting that Berg does not accept the standard birth certificate, but demands the "long form" -- something the Hawaii bureaucracy does not offer, and which is not required to establish legal citizenship. Obama is essentially telling him and his supporters to blow it out their ass. It's what I would feel quite confident doing were I in his position -- especially if I knew I was a citizen.

Looking at this from the perspective of game theory, what would Obama have to gain by complying with Berg's crank demands? He would get no votes from his opponents, and he would only look like a wimp to his supporters.

Moreover, even if he did manage to get a "long form" from Hawaii and hand it over to Berg, that would not be enough, as Berg demands the following:

http://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/pennsylvania/paedce/2:2008cv04083/281573/13/

***QUOTE***
1. Obama?s "vault" version (certified copy of his "original" long version)
Birth Certificate; and
2. A certified copy of Obama?s Certification of Citizenship;
3. A Certified copy of Obama?s Oath of Allegiance.
***END QUOTE***

There's no basis for alleging that items 2 or 3 exist other than pure speculation by Berg based on an unproven allegation of his mother's "expatriation." If she never expatriated herself (and there's no showing that she did), then there would be no Oath of Allegiance or Certification of Citizenship to provide.

I think it's obvious Berg is a crank who will not be satisfied. Overall, I think he's helping Obama more than he's hurting him, and I'm sure the Obama campaign enjoys the hell out of this. (I certainly would.)