Probably what bothers me the most about all of the fake and opportunistic outrage over Romney’s birth-certificate joke is . . . the fake and opportunistic outrage. There is no serious argument to be made that Romney’s joke was intended to actually move voters in anyway. If you’re a birther you’re not voting for Obama. If you’re not a birther, Romney’s joke isn’t going to bring you over.
More to the point, Romney was simply following Obama’s lead. Not long ago, the Obama campaign had the idea to release a line of birther-related campaign schwag. The idea was to defuse the whole birther thing, turn it into a joke. Instead of celebrating the fact they succeeded, the Obama campaign waits for Romney to take the bait, and then they denounce him for it. It’s a perfect example of the depth of the Obama campaign’s bad faith.
Here’s an article from Talking Points Memo from last year:
For a $25 donation, you can get a t-shirt that shows a smiling Obama above the phrase, “Made in the U.S.A” on the front, and the president’s long-form birth certificate on the back. The campaign is also giving away coffee mugs with the same design scheme to supporters who make a $15 contribution.
Deputy Campaign Manager Julianna Smoot wrote in an email announcing the new items that the campaign felt it was best to make light of the birther controversy so the president could go back to focusing on more important issues.
“There’s really no way to make this stuff completely go away,” Smoot wrote. “The only thing we can do is laugh at it — and make sure as many other people as possible are in on the joke.”
“If the facts can’t make these ridiculous smears go away, we can at least have a little fun with it,” she added.