I went to a regional state fair last week and stopped in at the Republican party booth. There I struck up a conversation with someone I will call Rep. Unknown to me at the time but Rep is a chairman of the one of the local county's Republican Party.
Rep was not sure if President Obama was born in the USA or not, but Rep told me that as a student Barack Obama had received a scholarship as a foreign national.
That was news to me because it was one of those rumors that I just hadn't heard yet. So I asked Rep where in world he heard such a story. He wasn't sure exactly but maybe I would find the story at snopes.com.
My instincts told me Rep was full of crap, so I bet $5.00 he couldn't tell me the source of his story. We agreed that hearsay wasn't good enough, he had to have the original source. Rep was glad to have caused me to doubt Barack Obama and his credibility. He gave me his email so that I could keep him informed as to my progress.
What I found after the flip:
I did some research and here is what I found.
This was the source of Bob's story:
April 1, 2009
AP- WASHINGTON D.C. - In a move certain to fuel the debate over Obama’s qualifications for the presidency, the group "Americans for Freedom of Information" has released copies of President Obama’s college transcripts from Occidental College. Released today, the transcript indicates that Obama, under the name Barry Soetoro, received financial aid as a foreign student from Indonesia as an undergraduate at the school. The transcript was released by Occidental College in compliance with a court order in a suit brought by the group in the Superior Court of California. The transcript shows that Obama (Soetoro) applied for financial aid and was awarded a fellowship for foreign students from the Fulbright Foundation Scholarship program. To qualify, for the scholarship, a student must claim foreign citizenship. This document would seem to provide the smoking gun that many of Obama’s detractors have been seeking.
The news has created a firestorm at the White House as the release casts increasing doubt about Obama’s legitimacy and qualification to serve as president. When reached for comment in London, where he has been in meetings with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Obama smiled but refused comment on the issue. Meanwhile, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs scoffed at the report stating that this was obviously another attempt by a right-wing conservative group to discredit the president and undermine the administration’s efforts to move the country in a new direction.
Britain's Daily Mail has also carried the story in a front-page article titled, "Obama Eligibility Questioned", leading some to speculate that the story may overshadow economic issues on Obama’s first official visit to the U.K.
In a related matter, under growing pressure from several groups, Justice Antonin Scalia announced that the Supreme Court agreed on Tuesday to hear arguments concerning Obama’s legal eligibility to serve as President in a case brought by Leo Donofrio of New Jersey. This lawsuit claims Obama's dual citizenship disqualified him from serving as president. Donofrio’s case is just one of 18 suits brought by citizens demanding proof of Obama’s citizenship or qualification to serve as president.
Gary Kreep of the United States Justice Foundation has released the results of their investigation of Obama’s campaign spending. This study estimates that Obama has spent upwards of $950,000 in campaign funds in the past year with eleven law firms in 12 states for legal resources to block disclosure of any of his personal records. Mr. Kreep indicated that the investigation is still ongoing but that the final report will be provided to the U.S. attorney general, Eric Holder. Mr. Holder has refused to comment on the matter.
Now before you get your panties in knot, check the date. April 1, 2009.
According to FactCheck.org
We contacted The Associated Press just to confirm what should be obvious, that no such news story ever appeared on the news agency's wires. Jack Stokes, the AP's manager of media relations, gave us this statement:
AP: The story purported to be from The Associated Press on April 1 is fake.
So I emailed Rep and cut and pasted just the fake AP story into the email. I asked him if this was the report that he was referring to. Bob couldn't be sure if that was the report, but he confirmed his assertion that Barack Obama had received a scholarship as a foreign national.
Then I emailed Rep back.
Rep you believe a hoax.
There was no AP report.
The date April 1 is an indication.
Don't take my word for it:
http://www.factcheck.org/...
Let me know if you have any evidence to contradict these reports.
If you have no evidence then I will await the withdrawal of your
assertion of Barack Obama's receiving a scholarship as a foreign
national.
After a day I got no response so I sent him this message:
Rep, do you have a reply?
Have you found another source to substantiate your assertion that
Barack Obama received a scholarship as a foreign national? If so what is
it? If not do you withdrawal the assertion?
Rep's response:
I replied,I believe Obama did. I substantiate that by Obama's refusal
to allow the documents to be seen. So much for his transparent open
government.
In case you haven't figured this out, you like to bait people then
show they are wrong.
My response:
Bob, I did not bait you.
Your source for the assertion that Obama received a scholarship as a
foreign national was a hoax article distributed by email chains to right
wingers by and to right wingers like you. I have asked you several times
to tell me the source of your assertion that Obama received a
scholarship as a foreign national and you either can not or will not
provide one.
In typical Republican form you make accusations that have no foundation
in fact.
You owe me $10.00
Rep's reponse:
As I stated in the previous e mail Obama refuses to release the information therefore there is no way to verify.
There you have it. The Chairman of the _____ County Republican Party is full of crap. He has either no ethics or reasoning capacity and has not honored his word or his bet.
I take great pleasure in sharing this story with you and affirm that I all I have related here is true and can be verified with the original emails.
Sorry to say that Republicans have lost not only their any reasoning ability but also their ability to judge an idea once it has made a home in their brain. I am presuming that the chairman of the county Republican Party is a fair representation of the party.