Perry Says He Believes Obama Was Born in USA
EmailGov. Rick Perry attempted to quiet the birther speculation Wednesday, in an exclusive interview with Tampa’s Bay News 9, saying he has “no doubt” President Obama was born in the United States and people need to “lighten up” about it.
In an interview to air Sunday, Perry was asked if he believes Obama is an American citizen.
“I have no doubt about it,” Perry said.
Speculation over Perry’s position on Obama’s citizenship first arose in an interview in Parade Magazine last Sunday.
Perry says he was only joking when he made comments about the president’s birth origin in a television interview earlier this week.
“I don’t think I was expressing doubts. I was having some fun with Donald Trump,” Perry said. ”It’s fun to, you know, lighten up a little bit.”
Perry borrowed the “lighten up” line, from Herman Cain, who uses it as a staple of his stump speech. Cain also attempted to turn a political gaffe into a joke when he proposed an electrified border fence to enhance border security.
“It’s a joke,” Cain said the next day. ”I’ve also said America needs to get a sense of humor. That was a joke, ok?”
Perry, who released his 2010 tax returns earlier this week and whose lackluster college transcripts came under scrutiny this summer, issued a challenge to President Obama and other politicians.
“Let’s lay out our income taxes, let’s lay out our college transcripts, mine’s been on the front page of the paper.”
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Let’s lay out our income taxes, let’s lay out our college transcripts, mine’s been on the front page of the paper.”
This is the first thing I’ve heard Perry say that I agree with. Having these seven republican candidates compare their college grades with president Obama’s would be like having Rock Creek High School challenging the Pittsburgh Steelers to a football game. I don’t think the republicans want to go there.
Posted by: tmferretti | October 26, 2011, 3:13 pm 3:13 pm
You know you’ve reached rock bottom when a candidate has to go back to the birther issue again. Bye, bye, Perry!
Posted by: tstorm | October 26, 2011, 3:19 pm 3:19 pm
Wow, every time Perry (or any other GOP candidate, for that matter) opens his mouth, he proves again how idiotic, unreliable, and untrustworthy he is. He really doesn’t know how he stands on any issue — he just says whatever he thinks his current audience wants to hear. And, anyone who agrees with Trump on anything is unfit to be POTUS.
Posted by: bubba | October 26, 2011, 3:34 pm 3:34 pm
Let’s lay out our income taxes, let’s lay out our college transcripts, mine’s been on the front page of the paper.”
This is the first thing I’ve heard Perry say that I agree with. Having these seven republican candidates compare their college grades with president Obama’s would be like having Rock Creek High School challenging the Pittsburgh Steelers to a football game. I don’t think the republicans want to go there.
Posted by: tmferretti
__________________________
Have you seen the college transcripts of the Republican candidates?
It would be very hard to see Obama’s transcripts though, since Obama, keeps his college transcrpts at Columbia University a big secret. Why?According to his roomate, his GPA was less than 3.3 and he was into drugs. he got into Harvard only because of Affirmative Action.
You certainly can’t go wrong with college records like that, can you tmferretti?
Posted by: spike | October 26, 2011, 3:57 pm 3:57 pm
ABCNEWS…. you know you don’t have to be born in the United State to be “a citizen”. Was that what the interviewer asked or were you trying to paraphrase what was asked. Either way, one of you is wrong…
BTW, we all know GOP has no candidate to compete in this election. H. Cain is just enjoying his 10 days of fame just like every other republicans: Perry & Mitt…
Posted by: joe | October 26, 2011, 3:58 pm 3:58 pm
Ya know… I think Perry did get a bad rap regarding this. Unlike Cain (and I’m still trying to get the joke) I sense that Perry was just talking off-handedly and having a bit of fun. It surely back fired on him though.
Posted by: MyTakeOnThis61 | October 26, 2011, 4:06 pm 4:06 pm
SPIKE
Wow, Columbia, can any of the seven candidates even spell Columbia. I guess he was chosen as the first president of the Harvard Law Review just because he was black. The University of Chicago also must have made him a full professor for the same reason. As I said, the Republicans are better off not going there.
I honestly don’t think President Obama wants to show his transcripts if he doesn’t have too. He’s not the kind of guy that likes to rub things in.
Posted by: tmferretti | October 26, 2011, 4:13 pm 4:13 pm
Let’s lay out our income taxes, let’s lay out our college transcripts, mine’s been on the front page of the paper.”
This is the first thing I’ve heard Perry say that I agree with. Having these seven republican candidates compare their college grades with president Obama’s would be like having Rock Creek High School challenging the Pittsburgh Steelers to a football game. I don’t think the republicans want to go there.
Posted by: tmferretti
_______________________
Have you seen the college transcripts of the Republican candidates?
It would be a little hard to see those of Obama since he keeps his college records at Columbia a big secret. Why? According to his roommate he made less than a 3.3 average and was into drugs. He only got admitted to Harvard because of Affirmative Action.
With college records like these, you can’t go wrong. can you tmferretti?
Posted by: ivan | October 26, 2011, 4:23 pm 4:23 pm
Why won’t you republicans admit President Obama is a well educated, smart, reasonable, even tempered man? If you don’t like his policies, fine, take your best shot, but when you get personal you know us democrats are going to fire back. Remember the old adage, “People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones”
Posted by: tmferretti | October 26, 2011, 4:24 pm 4:24 pm
SPIKE
Wow, Columbia, can any of the seven candidates even spell Columbia. I guess he was chosen as the first president of the Harvard Law Review just because he was black. The University of Chicago also must have made him a full professor for the same reason. As I said, the Republicans are better off not going there.
I honestly don’t think President Obama wants to show his transcripts if he doesn’t have too. He’s not the kind of guy that likes to rub things in.
Posted by: tmferretti
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Obama got into Harvard because of Affirmative Action according to Obama’s roommate. Now maybe you can show me that his roommate was lying.
Obama doesn’t want to show his transcripts because he has something to hide..
Posted by: spike | October 26, 2011, 4:28 pm 4:28 pm
Why won’t you republicans admit President Obama is a well educated, smart, reasonable, even tempered man? If you don’t like his policies, fine, take your best shot, but when you get personal you know us democrats are going to fire back. Remember the old adage, “People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones”
Posted by: tmferrett
____________________________
You are the one who gets personal tmferrett. You were the very first one to take a shot on this board. You said all the Republicans candidates got bad grades in college. You can dish it out but you certainly can’t take it..
If you can’t stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen.
Posted by: spike | October 26, 2011, 4:33 pm 4:33 pm
“Lighten Up”???? Perry is a true IDIOT and needs to go back to TEXASS where he can be the dumba$$ cowboy that he IS! JERK!
Posted by: demNme5 | October 26, 2011, 4:42 pm 4:42 pm
SPIKE
I can’t tell you the roommate is lying because I don’t even know his name. Did you know that the President was sent to the corner in the first grade for chewing gum? His teachers name was Miss Klingerbottom. I think we should have her subpoenaed and prosecuted for picking on the future president of the United States.
The President refuses to get down in the mud with the tea party republicans. I think this encourages them to continue this BS. They should remember all democrats are not as easy going and even tempered as he is. We’ll can dish it out as well as take it.
Posted by: tmferretti | October 26, 2011, 4:47 pm 4:47 pm
As for the person with a higher intellect – OBAMA all the way. You could pile every one of this embarrassing field of Republican candidates and with the exception of ONE (Newt) none of them COMBINED have the brainpower that President Obama has and IF you can’t see that, then you too have a low level of intellect!! Step AWAY from the birther AND intelligence crap because you Republicans only look MORE Idiotic than you already ARE!
Posted by: demNme5 | October 26, 2011, 4:48 pm 4:48 pm
“Obama got into Harvard because of Affirmative Action according to Obama’s roommate. Now maybe you can show me that his roommate was lying.”
My goodness! You are so convinced by this “roommate.” Could you tell us what his name is?
Posted by: MyTakeOnThis61 | October 26, 2011, 4:55 pm 4:55 pm
Is this roommate the head of admissions at Harvard? If not, why not just use Sean Hannity as a reliable, objective Obama source.
Posted by: CloteasBoy | October 26, 2011, 5:03 pm 5:03 pm
Spike/Ivan, OK, I’ll bite. I believe that you heard somewhere that Obama’s college roommate said some very negative things about him. Which of Obama’s many roommates at Columbia was it? Was it Phil Boerner, Imad Husain, Sohale Siddiqi, Vinai Thummalapally, or another one? Do you bother to do any reseach on a statement that you spread around as the truth, or do you just enjoy spreading vicious lies about political opponents?
Posted by: Bubba | October 26, 2011, 7:56 pm 7:56 pm
So when did the defination of “natural born citizen” change to being born in the U.S. from having oarents (yes that’s plural) that were both citizens of the U.S. when you were born?
Posted by: sudmuf | October 27, 2011, 5:18 am 5:18 am