Mitt Romney ‘birther’ joke outrages President Barack Obama’s campaign

http://www.nydailynews.com

Mitt Romney outraged the Obama’s campaign on Friday by telling a Michigan crowd that “no one’s ever asked to see my birth certificate,” in what appeared to be a wink at persistent conspiracy theories about the president’s birthplace. Romney made the controversial comment as he was reminiscing about his childhood before a home-state crowd. “I love being home, in this place where Ann and I were raised, where both of us were born,” Romney said, naming the local hospitals where he and his wife were delivered. “No one’s ever asked to see my birth certificate. They know that this is the place where we were born and raised.” The line prompted laughter and cheers from the audience, gasps from reporters and a speedy denunciation from the Obama campaign. Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt said in a statement that “Governor Romney’s decision to directly enlist himself in the birther movement should give pause to any rational voter across America.” The Obama campaign then released a more succinct response by Twitter - a link to a live video of Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA.” Romney advisers insisted that the line was nothing more than an innocent, off-the-cuff quip. "The governor has always said, and has repeatedly said, he believes the president was born here in the United States," an adviser told The Washington Post. And later, on CBS News, Romney also said the line was meant as a joke. “We’ve got to have a little humor in a campaign,” he said. But Rush Limbaugh was among those who believed the “birther” line may have been a calculated effort to appeal to the chunk of Republicans who still believe Obama was not born in the U.S. and is therefore not qualified to be president. “I think this line is a test drive,” Limbaugh said on his radio show. While Romney has said he trusts that Obama was born in Hawaii, he has also embraced Donald Trump, who has been an outspoken proponent of “birther” theories.