Issue Of The Week XXI: Why Is President Barack Obama’s Natural Citizenship Of The United States Continually Questioned?

I think the fact that Obama's place of birth and religious affiliation is questioned so much is out of ignorance.Never before has a president been so pressed on his place of birth or religious affiliation. I think the motive for this questioning can be pinned on the Tea "Partiers" who hate to admit that Obama our president. "How dare a half white half wrong(in a racist mind)[black] man lead our country, "you hear his name, Barrack Obama, sounds like one of those terrorists to me." This type of ignorance is conveyed "in the closet", by most likely, a majority of the Tea Party. They all seem to be white and middle aged, the perfect age in our time of history for ignorance and racism to be lodged within the minds of the individuals who call themselves people. This may seem a little extreme to stereotype the tea party, i can proudly say as a white man(i say that every time), that I do not align myself with those individuals of lower class(in terms of mental morality and openness to difference). Every time Obama proposes a plan on health-care or budgets, the tea party must shut it down, not because it is going to really effect them and their lifestyles, however the fact that it will discredit him and get him out of office in 2012. I hope 2012 is the end of the Tea Party and not the world. The ignorance that was brewed within the baby-boomers will be gone by the time politics really effect me.

It’s easy to criticize and judge someone based on things that nobody really knows. Nobody really knows Obama's relationship with neither the Lord nor his religious habits. The hard part is actually trying to get to know the man he is and not fighting him just because people have "reason" to. Whether he is the first black president or not, it does not give people the right to unjustly accuse him of things dealing with his citizenship and religious life. I think President Obama should make a public statement saying that his personal relationship with the Lord is nobody's business. Second, he should remind the people that running a country is no easy task and if everyone would put all the effort into helping him rather than ridiculing him it would make things easier for everyone. People are people. Everyone is going to have an opinion and it’s much easier to hate than love.

Americans seem to believe that if the media broadcasts it then it must be true. There was a lot of controversy over many issues in the previous election. Rumors that spread of Obama's birthplace being elsewhere were just one more way that people could add drama to the election. Rumors also spread that he had switched churches which although we are able to do so freely it caused people to question his motives for switching. Most Americans allow for the media to control the way they think of a subject which could be the explanation. I do also realize that people try to make themselves look better than others so maybe people try to bring Obama down so they look better and when he does something wrong we can dismiss the blame as being another reason and not that he is like us. Because admitting he is like us means admitting that we too have faults.

I think the reason President Obama is facing so much hostility right now, is because he is a first for our country. The first black president, who has inherited a major problem and is trying his best to fix it, but the people of this country have a hard time trusting the next man in power considering what the previous president has put us through. I think because Obama is the first black president he is taking a lot of heat for little things, not so much little things, but the fact that he has already proven he is a citizen and told what his religion was, yet people are in denial. I mean who cares what his religion is American constitution guarantees freedom of expression and religion and so forth. People are just so quick to dismiss and challenge something that's new rather than go a different route and use different solutions to a problem. Sometimes, I think its not fair but this country has always been the type to do things "America's" way so its really not a shocker to me.

I am kind of releived that we have a president who does not insist on a religious agenda as a primary focus of this country. Some of my family members are religious and while I am not, I want to make it clear that I do not condemn religion. I think that religion instills moral values and a lot of good qualities in many people, but unfortunately, religion also makes people do crazy things. However, I do not need a religious system to prove that I am a good person. I feel that Obama does not need to be constantly bothered about displaying the circumstances of his birth or wearing his religion on his sleeve. It is not a requirement of the President--last time I checked-- to attend church weekly and make all documents pertaining to his birth public. I think the reason people are constantly challenging our President is because of political and racial feelings of hatred or distruts. Those who did not wish to see Obama in the White House, for whatever reason, I think the only way they can break him down or act as a reminder that he has opposition is by questining his moral values, religious values, and even place of birth. It is a "sore-loser" mentality and I can see right through it.

I don’t understand why the media has question President Obama; I honestly believe that they can’t be happy to see an African-American as President, especially since he is the first African-American president. If the media never brought to society’s attention that he might be Muslim or born outside of the US, no one would have ever question him as a President. But the media always happens to change individual’s thoughts due to some facts that are incorrect. Obama is already president why are they still trying to get rid of him, let him do his job as he’s doing a great job. It’s bad to read that lawsuits have been filed to disqualify Obama as President, even though they all have been rejected. Why President Obama always being question, the media needs to find other things to worry about including the 25% that believes what they are saying about Obama.

In my opinion, President Obama's citizenship is continually questioned because of the fact that he is our first black president and some people refuse to accept this. I highly doubt that if Obama was a white man, than his citizenship would be scrutinized as much as it has been. There are many people who were horrified when Barack Obama became president and it seems that they are not willing to respect him even though he is our president. I think that Donald Trump is accusing Obama of not being a citizen because he is trying to get attention and press for his own campaign since he is considering running for president himself. It is highly unlikely that Obama would have made it through all of the requirements that it took to become president if he was truly not a citizen. It is disheartening that people cannot accept that he is our president and and unite behind him for the good of the United States as a country. What is the point of destroying his name and belittling him? There is no purpose in slandering our president because that will only serve to divide us as a country. Americans need to acknowledge that Obama is our president and that that is not going to change at the present time. I did not vote for Obama, but I have accepted the fact that he is our president and that he deserves respect from me and other Americans. It is so crazy to me that even with all the proof that he most likely is a citizen, there are still people insisting that he is not and that he is a practicing Muslim. It just does not seem right that he is being faced with all these accusations that would likely not be occurring if he was a white man. At this point I am not sure what Obama could do to quell the accusations because some people refuse to accept anything he says. I feel that the people who are throwing around these accusations are not going to stop even if he was seen attending church every Sunday. They would probably just find another reason to hate him and try to destroy his reputation. I understand if people do not agree with his political views, but it is not right to judge him for the color of his skin. In order to unify the United States, it is crucial that people start respecting our President and stop working against him.

Despite what the article says, religion has always been a factor in presidential campaigns and the public have always wanted the president to wear his religion on his sleeve so that they know where he stands. While we may not know what our past presidents religions were, I guarantee the people of that time period certainly knew. Barack Obama is question because his answers on the issue have not always been strait forward and direct. Yes, it true much of the questioning comes from the fact that he is considered black and his name sure doesn't help, but Obama makes the accusations more creditable by what he presents in his speeches. Obama has roots that ties in closely with Muslims and he had a significant amount of experience around Muslims and the Quran. As for where he was born, although he has a United States birth certificate he grew up in many different countries. In the end Obama has a long and complicated history that does not fit the normal profile of an American President, people’s fear of the unknown is what leads them to continually question his history. The questioning of Obama's history and religion is not just a race issue although I'm sure it is for some, it is also an issue of trust. With such a complicated man who can only express so much about himself, it is hard for the people to trust him.

I feel like any person in some kind of leadership position faces ridicule and their perceived weaknesses are always exploited by opponents; President Obama is no different. Perhaps Obama’s perceived weakness is a bit drug out because of the technical legislative implications. The public perception of George W. Bush was that he was unintelligent, if there were an IQ requirement to become president of the United States I am optimistic that a few Democrats would make similar strides to challenge him. Lets face it, President Obama is treading new territory. Not only is he our country’s first black president but his parental nationality is a bit ambiguous and he has an uncommon name. All of these traits are perpendicular to previous holders of that office. I feel like this is a typical challenge of a pioneer and he should do whatever he feels is right and best for him.

I suppose the most obvious answer to proposed question is that everyone in the United States of American is a racist if they chose to exercise their God given right to question their political leaders. Maybe sarcasm isn't the best way to answer a question but the point is American's have the right question everything about their leaders. The populace is charged with selecting a man or woman who will be quite literally in charge of the U.S. and I see no problem in wanting to know every conceivable detail about the person who is going to be elected. The same was true when people chose to question President George W. Bush's past with alcohol and whether he was a confident enough public speaker to lead or nation. There is, however, a fine line between questioning and accusing. It is not necessarily racism to question the birth place of an American President. It is discriminatory to assume the President was not born in American because he is a different skin color from the previous president. President Obama is the Commander in Chief and should be treated with the respect appropriate for someone in that position. As for President Obama's religious affiliation, I believe the only reason this has fallen in to question is because of the inconsistencies surrounding the Presidents chosen religious preference. If the President had merely stated at the beginning of his campaign that he was a Muslim (I'm not saying he is I am only speaking hypothetically) I believe any stigma surrounding the statement would have been short lived. the same would have been true if the President had stated that he believes in Christianity however does not choose to practice his faith openly. The only problem lies in the statement that he is a practicing, openly-faithful Christian yet he does not appear to practice his faith. Now this does not mean President Obama is not a Christian, it only appears inconsistent and open to respectful question. You can never judge a man's faith by its outward appearance, however, and President Obama's faith should not be judged disrespectfully.

The reason Obama's birthplace and religion are questioned is because he does not belong to the master narrative that persists in this country. People may say they are not racist and find other reasons to say they do not like him, the truth is many people do not feel comfortable being led by someone who is half black. Whites are used to being privileged, and having a black president threatens that.

People question his religion because they do not see him go to church every Sunday. Half of the people questioning him probably don't go to church every Sunday. You don't have to go to church to be Christian. And even if he were Muslim, what does it matter? Muslim does not mean terrorist, and this country supposedly has freedom of religion.

President Obama should not have to do anything to quell the accusations. He has already proven that he was born in this country, so whoever does not believe him should have nothing left to say. And like I said, his religion is nobody's business but his own, so he should just ignore the accusations.

Barack Obama’s natural citizenship of the United States is constantly called into question by the American media and the American public. I think this partly has to do with Obama’s name. Many people associate the names “Hussein” and “Obama” with someone who is Muslim. I believe this is partly due to the ignorance of many people in the media and public, thinking that all Muslims are bad and want to do harm to the American people. Even though Barack Obama has proclaimed that he is Christian, many people are still ignorant to that fact. Sadly, I believe it also has to do with racism, and the fact that Barack Obama is half black. Unfortunately, there are many people in this country who still aren’t comfortable being led by an African-American leader. This view of African-Americans is completely wrong and inappropriate, but still expressed to this day. I don’t think there is much Obama can do to silence all the critiques; there will always be someone questioning his place of birth, religion, or ability to lead. Obama has already shown his birth certificate and proclaimed that he is a Christian, there is not much left that Obama can do. As long as the media continues to fuel this fire, people will always question things about Obama for the aforementioned reasons.

Many of what others have had to say has contributed to what I believe to be the true answers of these questions. One of the students made the comment that most people are uncomfortable with our president simply because he is black. I thought about this and thought that the idea could be argued on why I myself do not really like the man, but I do not like the man because of how he was portrayed. It has nothing to do with his individual characteristics. It has to do with how the media portrayed him and made the election about his physical differences. Also I am not a huge fan of how the first two major interviews were with Oprah and David Letterman. I wasn't really that thrilled that celebrities liked him. To me that is just scary.

The President's religion and birth have been called in to question repeatedly by the media and politicians. For one thing, the media uses scandals to entice viewers to watch and therefore make money. The politicians call these things into question because mudslining is just a piece of the political game today. Its much like a cheap charlatan's trick. If they can get yours eyes off the real issues for a minute, they can pull a bait and switch. The scandals are the bait and the media eagerly grabs it to make money. However, the Constitution does say that the President should be natural born, so any legislation passed on that subject is Constitutional and legitimate. If he weren't born in the U.S., I think he would have been removed from office a long time ago. On the subject of his religion, if he were a Christian, why does he not go to pray with Christian groups, but he does go to mosques to pray? His actions speak louder than his words, and his friend choices, former or current are hard to ignore. Bottom line, this isn't about race. This is about a man who instead of dealing with problems directly, openly, and honestly, has left himelf open to attack and speculation by not dealing with minor issues as they arrise.

President Obama is continually being questioned on his nationality because of his physical appearance and his name. As racist as this may sound, Obama does not look like your typical American and his name does not sound like a typical American name. Another reason Obama is constantly being questioned is because he is the first African American president of our country. This is a huge milestone for society and some people see this as a set back. His religion is being questioned because he displays his knowledge of the Quran and his closeness to the Muslims. This leads people to believe that he is more than just knowledgeable of their religion but is also practicing and in agreement with it. Obama needs to do a better job of letting people see him work with Christians in the community and help spread their word if that is the religion that he is claiming to be.

Barack Obama is questioned on his nationality because he is the first black president with an unusual name. People are always going to criticize any president, but because he is the first black president, more speculations about him are going to arise. The U.S. is about religious freedom, so if he is Christian why do people worry about him? Some believe he is Muslim, but regardless of what he is, we are not to discriminate of any religion. Religion isn't allowed in schools, so why is it always a problem when speaking about Obama? Unfortunately, there may be no solution to stop this problem. He has proved himself enough and the media will always portray him as something else regardless.

I am disappointed in some people those people leading this conflict and encouraging this ridiculous controversy. It seems as if because those who are not who don't want him in presidency because of his skin color are digging for flaws and technicalities to get their way. This is disregarding the stereotyping that is being done with his name. Just because his name sounds Muslim doesn't mean he his. If he was Muslim that should not matter because I don't remember when a person had to be a certain religion to be president. They are also trying to further associate Muslim with terrorism which is also an ignorant stereotype. At the end of the day I have a bitter sweat feeling about this situation because this is not something that is only going on with the President,but any other minority who is highly qualified for a leadership position. They are constantly scrutinized not for they qualifications or character but for their race,sex,or religion all the things irrelevant to the job. People need to see that this is a problem and it needs to stop.

Obama has had so much questioning over where he was born because of his Muslim ancestry and the media wanting to make money off of their viewers. After 9/11, Americans have had a lot of difficulty with seeing any Muslims as potential terrorists. Now that we have a president who had relations who were Muslim, people find it difficult to not judge him. The fact that he looks different from our previous presidents and that he has a unique sounding name to Americans also causes people to question his ability to be qualified to lead our nation. Also, the media is always trying to magnify the faults of and the scandals caused by the leaders of our country, no matter how trivial the issues really are.That people are still fighting over where he was born is ridiculous. We need to move on and try to give him the support and encouragement that he needs as our nation’s leader.

In my honest opinion, I believe that some people just don't like change. Some people never wanted to see a black president, and the fact that our president's name is different causes more of a stir. People will always criticize every president but because Obama is half black he is placed under the microscope and every move he makes will be watched. The ignorance that people have in assuming that our president isn't a U.S. citizen is dumb. Do they really not believe that our own government would let a non-U.S. citizen become the leader of our country? And even with the fact that we live in a free country why can't Obama choose whatever religion he wants to affiliate himself with (even though he himself claims he is a Christian). Obama can't change the minds of everybody in the country, he just has to continue to lead this country one day at a time and try to make the U.S. a better place.

Me personally it really doesn’t matter. He is the president and that’s what this country voted on. I think it is more dealing with his skin color more than anything else. The citizenship is just people trying to find ways to get him out. Donald Trump running for president this world is really going to crash. Money can buy this world now wow, but we got poverty, unemployment, and health care issues in this country that needs to be fixed seriously. I think Obama was inexperienced and probably had behind the scenes advise on lots of issues. No matter what that man was before he is a born Christian. People are not happy at all. We are all human being and the fact is we just need to love our brothers and sisters. The bible says, if we can love our brother whom we can see than how we can love our father that we can see.

We can pretend that it is just because he is black, but I don't believe that is true. It is all in his name. Let me say first that this is not how I feel personally. It is interesting that this article (other than a small picture) does not make mention of Obama's middle name. Barack Hussein Obama. Q: Since the tragedies on 9/11, who has been our scape goat? A: The muslim communtiy. I will admit, even to my ears Obama's name sounds very muslim. At very least, he sounds foreign. As for the question why he is the first president to be asked for he birth certificate, to some he even looks foreign. I would not be able to tell just by looking at him that he was a natural born and raised American citizen. And on top of that, all prior presidents fit the bill of being a white man. In that sense, it is partially because he is black. At the same time however, I don't think that he would be questioned if he had an American name.

“The only thing we have to Fear is Fear itself” as famously said by FDR during his first Inaugural Address regarding the Great Depression. Mankind is reactive to Fear, the Great unknown, we are bothered by the things we do not understand. There are those that still to this day stand around scratching their heads saying” Now how is it that an African American Man with a name like Barack Hussein Obama can win the election? Ten Thousand years from now, man will still ask the same question. We all want change, yet some are unwilling to except change when the change is not benefitual. We heard the majority voice of the American people; Barack Obama was elected, became the first African American President of the United States, yet, years from now we will continue to hear of the rights and wrongs of his presidency. But, for now, enough said; Let President Barack Obama carry on with his duty as President like the true American that he is.

I personally believe that people continue to question Obama's religion/birth place because he is the first black president of the U.S.A. But for people to still question his place as president is pure ignoranice, its been two years sense he was elected but still the questions linger about his past. It might have to do with all of the things he has going on, like different plans he has for america or stuff like that but I dont know. If people want him out as president then they should not have elected him to that position. And before he was even elected all of this nonsense should of been brought to the light then instead of now two years late! America maybe the land of the free but its the home of the ignorant as well. It doesn't matter to me who is president honeslty because as long as we remain a free country and there is not a military draft I'll be just fine.

Personally if you want to be president then be president.It shouldn't matter what race you are, what your religion background is, but i think that is all the world sees is color, nothing but color at that. I think that is why everyone started questioning President Obama for being of a Muslim Faith nad to say that he was not born an American. It shouldn't matter, he won fair and square and America needs to move on from that. There is always going to be change, might as well make it happen now. I'm pretty sure if Sarah Palin has won presidency, people would be discriminating against her because she is a woman. And women shouldn't have jobs of men but once agian it's change and people should just live with that. President Obama has made change in this world, but because of what he is, they seem to not accept that. From what I see he has helped a lot of people and they better credit him for what he has done, because without him they could have nothing.

During Obama's run for presidency, there was a whole lot of mud-slinging going on. Pictures, such as the one where he is dressed in Muslim garb, visiting the country that his father was from, was used against him in hopes that the American people would not trust him enough to elect him. That's the origin of why his religion is being challenged. Before his run for presidency, no one cared what religion he or his parents were. And certainly, no one really cared what our former presidents' religions were. As per the birth certificate being challenged, it originates from the same source of people that did not want Obama to be trusted enough to be elected. I don't think these people making these claims honestly feel that he is a terrorist, or affiliated with terrorism. They had one thing in mind, and that was for the presidency to be won by the person they were backing (which obviously was not Obama). It all started with the mud-slinging.
In regards to Obama doing anything to quell the accusations: I don't think he should do anything. He should not have to prove himself when none of our former presidents were asked to prove their birthplace. He shouldn't have to justify himself to anyone that is intended on listening with closed ears. The reason is that people will believe what they want to believe, no matter what you say or do. Obviously, a birth certificate proves where he was born, and yet, that's still not good enough for his accusers. That tells me that he can bend over backwards, and they still would not believe him.

In my opinion people continually question President Obama's religious beliefs and national origin although they have been clearly demonstrated multiple times because of some of the same reasons in which the article states. First of all I think people question these things because he is our first black president, and quite frankly some people just do not like the thought of that with their racist and stereotypical thoughts. They probably also look at his name and think that with a name like that he cannot possibly be of American decent or be a Christian as he claims to be. Many Americans also believe that he is a Muslim because of his father's connections to the Muslim religion yet repeatedly when asked about his religion the President has said he is a Christian. Regardless of the reason for which people want to criticize the President it all ties back to excuses for people to criticize him for various personal reasons that they might not have, but I think the main reason for all these criticisms is that people just don't like him. I don't understand why people cannot just come out and say that instead of come up with dumb and untrue facts about our President. If your going to say something bad about him and try to expose something bad about him at least make sure your point is valid. The thing gets me in which the article states is that if these things that people are pointing out are true then he would not have been able to have been elected President in the first place by our country's election process and laws. All of these criticisms are pointless.

Call it ignorance on my part, or blame it on my extremely busy schedule these days but I am totally out of the loop when it comes to political issues. I have heard some banter concerning the birth certificate of President Obama but honestly, I thought it had been resolved long ago. Let’s face it, you have got to have some very thick skin to get into politics, these people play dirty and slamming your opponent or anyone in a political party other than your own is the name of the game. I would go home crying every day. It is very surprising to me that you don’t have to prove that you are a natural-born citizen to run for President of the United States. Is this something that is just assumed? Literally no one has ever had to provide documentation before? WOW. Sure, President Obama has caught some slack over many issues, but I have to say, in my years of living, I can’t think of one President that has not been slammed regularly on the news or by the public for one reason or another. Bottom line, Obama has been elected as our President; he will be our President for at least 2 more years, how nice it would be if we could focus on what is going to make America a better place to live and legislation that is going to protect us all.

I have mixed emotions on this topic. Firstly, I will admit that NOT because of his color, but his name I have also questioned the authenticity of his claims. You can not deny that his name in it of itself is alarming, but it is not enough reason to question his natural citizenship as much as it has been. This issue has been beaten to death, and now I personally believe it is just an easy out for people to use against him. I am all for being a proud American, but think about some other places in the world where we would benefit from accepting some of their policies. For example, Iceland has just been deemed "best place to live" because of their free-market economy and good health care. Why would it be so horrible to have a president who is accustomed to the ways in Iceland, who wants to bring the same customs here to help and fix our dreadful economy. This of course is not what I am suggesting, but it is an interesting thought. We, as a country should study other policies and put serious thought into a solution for our current situation. In conclusion, regardless of where President Obama was born, if he was appointed by the majority to lead, then let him lead.