NO ONE CAN DEFEND OUR CONSTITUTION AND IGNORE IT WHEN IT PERTAINS TO THEMSELVES

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President-Elect Barack Obama is preparing for his formal inauguration as President of the United States in less than two weeks yet how many are aware that Alan Keyes, a former black presidential candidate has instituted a lawsuit against him, charging that he is not a "natural-born" citizen, thereby making him ineligible to seek the office of President under the laws of the U.S. Constitution. I, a Caucasion, consider myself "non-racist" and share the position of Mr.Keyes. Though my vision is good, in the recent Presidential Race I was completely color-blind. Having said this, I am now raising my voice against what I believe may be an unlawful attempt by Obama to "procure" the Presidency of the United States ! Had he honestly supplied proof of his electability status I would not be writing this letter nor would so many lawsuits have been filed against him because, like it or not, he would have been Constitutionaly elected.

Listening to then Senator Obama throughout the campaign, I heard a man whose moral utterances are in complete contradiction to the beliefs of my Catholic Faith. Even more distressing was his consistant lack of concern for the unborn, including those who somehow survived birth while fending off Abortionists. What a horrible mismatch to contemplate ! Obama, however, said that a child so born could be abandoned and left to die, whether in a closet, utility room or wherever, if that was it's mother's wish ! Would he feel that way if it had involved his own family ? Four thousand innocents are being killed in the womb daily yet he is preparing to sign legislation which would add approx. 125,000 more victims yearly. Obama left me with no choice but to vote against him because of his "ideals"....not his color. Now it appears the only legal path left is to challenge his eligibility, an eligibility never confirmed.

I believe that he knew full well his Hawaiian "Certification of Live Birth" certificate (COLB), though similar in name to the Hawaiian "Live Birth Certificate", was not acceptable as a valid document establishing "natural-born" citizenship, since it lacked pertinent information such as a Government signature, Doctors name, Hospital of Birth, witnesses, etc. When challenges to his claim of "natural-born" citizenship surfaced he unhesitatingly put a COLB on the website of Daily Kos, claiming that it was a true copy of his original birth certificate. Note that he had no qualms about releasing that particular COLB to the people. What he failed to mention was that a COLB did not confirm "natural-born" citizenship status. Only a "Live Birth Certificate" could ! Was this a small oversight by a recognized Constitutional lawyer ?

When competent authorities raised the objection that the Daily Kos posting appeared fraudulent Obama's transparency immediately was replaced by complete secrecy and now he steadfastly refuses to allow anyone to view the "vault" copy of his birth certificate. Even letters, lawsuits,newspaper ads are ignored and not even acknowledged. Why ? Would it reveal information which would only further confirm that he was ineligible to seek the Office of President ?

Obama might have settled this issue for under fifty dollars by having his "vault" certificate released to the public by Hawaiian authorities. Instead, he has caused over twenty lawsuits to be filed in search of the truth (imagine the cost) yet he has reportedly incurred over one million dollars in legal fees with multiple law firms to prevent anyone from viewing the "vault" copy. Who in their right mind would pay out such sums to avoid going public unless they feared exposure of a dark secret . How naive does he consider the American people to be, though I wonder just how naive we have become ? Please reflect on this: Obama wishes to become our President but won't release records which should confirm his eligibility while we citizens must produce those same records for marriage, military service,etc. Remember how he often said he would meet with any World Leader, even Terrorists, with no pre-conditions ? What if the President of Iran agreed to meet with him, on condition that due to the notoriety about this issue he must first produce a valid "Live Birth Certificate" as proof that he was empowered to speak and act for the United States Government ? Would Obama authorize the release to the Iranian Government of a document which he refuses to release to the American People ? He would be on the horns of a dilemma for, if he allowed its release and it is shown to be a 'COLB" rather than a true "Live Birth Certificate", he would immediately forfeit any eligibility to even seek the Presidency. On the other hand, if he directly refused to satisfy the Iranian request he would be telling the entire world that disclosure of his birth certificate would invalidate any claim he made to the Office. The only other negative option available would be to maintain complete silence, which is what he is doing to the American People. It's called stonewalling ! If Arnold Schwarzenegger had kept his Austrian birth certificate secret he might have succeeded in adding a "World President" belt to his other trophies.

THE CART IS BEFORE THE HORSE

Truly disgraceful is the conspiratorial-like non-reporting by the Major Media of the existence of the many lawsuits, encompassing plaintiffs of Caucasian, Black, and Hispanic origin which were or are challenging Obama's claim of "natural-born" citizenship. What the media gives us are crescendos of silence, until a lawsuit has been rejected, usually for presumed lack of "standing". Then, and only then, are we made aware that the lawsuit even existed. As I've said above, they have reversed the order of the horse and the cart. Guess which then reaches us more quickly....wares or waste ?

As more and more citizens clamor for transparency by Obama, seeking a public release of his "vault" birth certificate and Occidental College records (listed as foreign student ?) some of his defenders call those citizens "crazy" or refer to the issues as "garbage". So much for civilized, relevant responses to genuine concerns. Our Constitution was obtained at a great price. Though written in ink, it had been purchased in blood....the blood of our Forefathers. The Founders of our Nation deliberately inserted a "natural-born" citizenship requirement for anyone seeking the Office of President to ensure that the ideals for which they fought would be faithfully preserved for the future. Imagine their reaction if someone preparing to lead our country with an oath to defend The Constitution refused to allow anyone to question his eligibility credentials; today you would not find that person's portrait in The Hall of Presidents. Were our Forefathers "crazy" and the issues "garbage". I think not.

GENERAL COMMENTS

For brevity, I will only refer to some additional topics of concern: No Hawaiian hospital is reported to have a record of Obama's being actually born there, including two which were each separately claimed (shades of King Solomon) as his birth hospital by various family members.

His Kenyan grandmother's testimony reportedly identifies Kenya as his birthplace and her witnessing his birth.

In the 1980's he traveled to Pakistan but records show that he did not obtain his first American passport until years later. What nationality did he claim, since Pakistan was not allowing those with American passports into the Country while war was going on ?

He is reported to have attended school in Indonesia as Barry Soetoro, when only Indonesian citizens were permitted to attend.

CONCLUSION

No one can promise to defend our Constitution and ignore it when it pertains to themselves. That was a "privilege" reserved by Dictators and Kings for themselves and, also,a reason for the establishment of our Country. Obama was elected to be a servant of the people....not their master. If he really wishes to unite our Nation let him release his "vault" birth certificate and other records requested and then step up....or down, accordingly, thereby bringing closure to this issue.

A CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS............ONE OATH AWAY !

- Robert Quinn

robert quinn (bquinn@pngusa.net)