back to article Obama says his birthplace is 'in Asia'

In a recent speech President Obama has described his birthplace as being "in Asia": but even the maddest "birther" – the term for people convinced that Mr Obama was not born in the USA and thus is not eligible to be President – probably can't draw much comfort from the error. In a recent press conference given in Hawaii (the …

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  1. Peter Simpson 1
    Trollface

    Maybe

    He's just giving the birthers a little tweak?

  2. Colin Millar

    American Asia

    There's quite a few bits of that

    Wake, Midway, Guam and Saipan are all US territory in Asia

    Hawaii is only just over the line in Oceania

    1. MeRp

      If you want to get technical about it none of those are in Asia; they are all part of Oceania. The only parts of US that are in Asia are military bases and embassies.

  3. Velv
    Go

    Once the republicans get back in the birth law will be changed. How else can they elect President Schwarzenegger

    1. Marvin the Martian

      Yes, but

      if not with candidate Schwarzenegger, how will they get the presidency? Newt G??

      Catch-22 is what I'm saying.

    2. Mr. Byte
      FAIL

      Uh, it'll take more than the Right half of the republicrat party

      I believe an amendment to change the Natural Born requirement in the Constitution would require ratification by the states. I'm not positive of the numbers, but I believe it's a super-majority needed to pass an amendment.

      1. Michael Wojcik Silver badge

        Ratification of amendments to the US constitution

        Amendments must be ratified by either the legislatures of 3/4 of the states (so 38, currently), or by constitutional conventions in 3/4 of the states.

        Obviously it's a fairly high barrier, which is why the Constitution's only been amended 27 times (and once just to reverse an earlier amendment). The last time was in 1992, and that amendment was originally proposed in 1789. So for those of you with a pet amendment in mind, there's always hope...

        About ten years ago or so, there was some bipartisan talk of removing the natural-born requirement by amendment, for the benefit of Arnie on the Republican side, and on the Democrat side Jennifer Granholm, the Canadian-born then-governor of Michigan. That died down as both their stars fell - largely due to macroeconomic conditions outside their direct control. (FWIW, I've seen worse governors from both parties, and I dare say worse potential presidential candidates.)

  4. Dave Murray
    FAIL

    So he wasn't born in Asia but he is stupid enough that he doesn't know which land masses are in the country he's president of and which are in another continent?!?! That's even more stupid than Bush. Where do they find these morons and why do they elect them?

    1. Chad H.

      Well

      As Colin pointed out, there is plenty of US territory in Asia.

      I'll just leave that there whilst you mull over who's smarter than whom.

    2. JC_
      Thumb Down

      How far did you go at Harvard, Dave? By the way, Hawaii isn't considered to be on any continent.

      1. Armando 123

        @JC_, I went to grad school with Ivy Leaguers, and believe me, an Ivy League degree does not mean you aren't stupid in some ways.

        1. Swarthy
          Boffin

          "Thermometers aren't the only things that are graduated, have degrees, and can't think."

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      get over it Dave

      His Human, Humans make mistakes, its life

    4. Craigness

      "More stupid than Bush"

      Obama seems to think there are 60 states in the union...

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpGH02DtIws

      1. LateNightLarry
        Pint

        Sixty states...

        Maybe he's just thinking ahead for when Canada becomes part of the United States... although Canada might have more than ten provinces if you count the territories, so he'd still be wrong...

        Must be BEER O'Clock somewhere...

    5. Dave 15

      Morons everywhere - especially in the electorate

      The biggest single flaw in 'democracy' is that the stupid and ill informed are allowed to choose. As they are too stupid and too ill informed the choices they make are quite often also stupid and ill informed. We have it here - a parliament of back stabbing, money grabbing, greedy and usually quite stupid politicians who have no knowledge about anything beyond fiddling expenses and hiding the back handers they get. Yet the stupid idiot electorate time and again puts these discredited individuals in a position of power.

      In the case of America this stupidity is almost boundless and is really just a competition to see who has most money from people who think that owning the president will give them an advantage (it usually does). In the UK the media are the ones who choose - remember 'The Sun' and their 'last person out turn off the lights' headline - blatant and discreditable bias, but of course they were not only allowed to publish but never run off the street for it. (other media is just as bad - including the BBC).

      How long before the great unwashed mass of idiots finally realise what a ride they are being taken for? Over here our government have just handed the already rich Richard Branson at least another 800,000 poinds of tax payers money in the form of a cheap cut price bank. The only promise made is not to sack any of the few thousand workers for a couple of years (perhaps cut their pay and bonus and let them leave, just don't sack them). The average British idiot thinks this is fine!

    6. alwarming
      WTF?

      @Dave Murray: You are trolling, right ??

      While this is a UK website and no one really cares about democrats vs republicans here; but you surely know that commentards on a tech site would be educated enough to LOL/scoff at your rhetoric ?

  5. Uncle Slacky Silver badge
    Headmaster

    He's (pretty much) right though

    It certainly isn't in North America. It's the northernmost of the Polynesian islands, so it should be considered as part of Asia (or at least Australasia).

    See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polynesian_triangle & http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australasia

  6. TeeCee Gold badge
    WTF?

    Doesn't matter anyway.

    Even if Hawaii were considered to be in Asia, it's still a state of the US, so he'd still be eligable.

  7. JeffyPooh
    Pint

    "Here in Asia"

    "Here in Asia-Pacific"

    There, I fixed it for you... ...Mr. President.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    How the hell does something so utterly idiotic become so controversial?

    And what a sad indictment on the intelligence of republican voters that enough of them believe this nonsense to justify the likes of Fox News carrying the story for as long as they did.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Asia?

    No doubt Alex Jones will soon be reporting this as a confession by Obama that he was born in Ursa.

    Not sure if he'll pluck for Minor or Major though.

    1. This post has been deleted by its author

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Understandable

    "War is God's way of teaching Americans geography".

    - Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914)

    Apparently Obama hasn't started enough wars yet to have a firm grasp of the various continents. God help us all if he ever condescends to take an interest in individual countries.

    1. John A Blackley

      Remind me

      Exactly how many wars has President Obama 'started'?

      1. Swarthy
        Paris Hilton

        That's kind of his point (I belive). No wars=No understanding of geography.

        At least for us on the left side of the pond.

        1. rav
          Facepalm

          uhh?

          Starting wars was not in the quote. But he did finish more than any other President in history. When he ends Afghanistan that will be two.

      2. 404

        Libya and now Yemen

        ... unless Predator Hellfire missiles don't count....

        Just saying....

  11. disgruntled yank

    Ah, quit complaining

    You finally have an American president with Pacific intentions...

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Ich bin ein jam-filled doughnut.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Du bist ein Pfannkuchen!

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ich_bin_ein_Berliner#Jelly_doughnut_misconception

    2. Chad H.
      Thumb Down

      Is a myth

      Not least because the use of the term "Berliner" is not generally used for that pasty snack in Berlin.

      1. Tilman Ahr
        Angel

        Actually...

        "Berliner" is used to refer to that jelly-donut-like confection in most of Germany - except for Berlin.

        In full, it's "Berliner Pfannkuchen" (something like "Berlin-style-pancake"), which got shortened to "Berliner" in the rest of Germany, while actual Berliners just kept calling them Pfannkuchen. Kind of like the situation with"Döner", "Wiener", "Frankfurter" etc.

        And before anyone asks: yes, they were traditionally baked (fried, really) in pans, and what the rest of the world calls "pfannkuchen" (or pancakes) is known as "Eierkuchen" in Berlin.

        Yes, it actually makes some kind of sense; No, it probably doesn't seem to do that to anyone from another country.

        Or significant parts of this one, as it stands. Oh, well...

        Icon, cause it kinda looks like ie...

  13. Armando 123

    What?

    The Hawaiian Islands aren't part of any continent. Did he learn his geography from the previous president?

    1. Marvin the Martian

      So how would you re-write his statement?

      "I was born here, nowhere"?

      The problem with public speaking is you have to finish your sentence once started, and best not rehash/continue it as that stresses any slip needlessly (I'm looking at you, Mr. Perry).

  14. rav
    Facepalm

    DOH

    "Ich bin ein Berliner" JFK in Berlin. There are those who will say that Kennedy actually said that he was a "Jelly Donut" too.

    So Obama wants his Hawaiian roots to lean towards Asia. Well the Japanese certainly wanted Hawaii to be part of Asia!

    1. Chad H.
      Thumb Down

      The only ones who would say that

      Are the ones who are misinformed.

  15. Bob 18

    Continent vs. Country

    US Law specifies you have to be born in the United States (a country) to be president. Asia is a continent, not a country. If parts of the USA are in Asia, then being born in those parts will qualify you to be president.

    But of course, as someone else pointed out... Hawaii is not part of any continent.

    1. Craigness

      US Law...

      ...states no such thing. you have to be a natural born citizen, which includes anyone with a parent who is a US citizen and had lived in the US for x years past the age of y at the time of the birth. I forget what x and y are but Obama qualified under that law when y was changed in the 90s, nomatter that he was born in the US.

    2. bg2b
      Headmaster

      almost

      You have to be a natural-born citizen of the US, but not necessarily born physically in the US.

    3. Chad H.

      Natural born Citizen

      Seems to be a phrase that means different things depending on a) who you are b) who you voted for in 2008 and c) If you've heard of Panama.

  16. Neil 34
    Happy

    A illegal alien, a muslim, a racists and a comunist walk into a bar and the bartender says: "What are you drinikin' Mr. President?".

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      A liar, a bigot, and an idiot post a comment on ElReg, and everybody says "You're an asshole".

      And I'm pretty sure the racist is the one who is just emotionally unable to accept that a black man could honestly have won the presidency. If you support democracy, you have to accept the results of elections even when they don't go the way you want them to, and if you don't accept the results then you don't accept democracy and you don't accept the constitution, so you can't call yourself a patriot.

      In conclusion: if you hate America so much, why don't you leave it?

      1. Mr. Byte
        Thumb Down

        Oh yeah, whip out the racist card...

        ...whenever anyone disagrees with a black man. Is that how it works?

        But he's half white, too. Funny how both sides gloss that part over.

        I don't say the election was rigged, in the sense of stuffed ballot boxes and the like. But the media sure did their best (and it was good enough) to rig the vote, simply by waving the "You're a racist if you don't vote for the Articulate Black Guy" flag all over the place.

        I think he sucks, not for his race, but because he policies are uninformed, badly executed, and just as full of concessions to the special interests on his side as any other politician. All that Hope and Change was gone when he picked Biden as his VP, and any fool that thinks otherwise is truly a fool.

        Oh, one more thing, the statute of limitations for blaming President Obama's incompetent attempts to correct the US economy on President Bush's mismanagement (under a democratic Congress, but let's just forget that too, ok) has passed. Please move on, nothing more to see there.

        1. Chad H.

          @ Mr Byte

          We didn't bring out the racist card. The OP did by refering to him as a Muslim.

          Thats not to say that white folks cant be Muslim, but in cases like this its beacuse of a refusal by the less than rational of Obama's critics refusal to believe that he could be a Christian.

        2. Chad H.

          Oh and Mr Byte

          Don't forget to share the blame with the "Do Nothing" republican congress who have sadly placed getting power above the needs of the American People.

    2. alwarming
      Coat

      .

      .

      1) No "a illegal alient" - "An illegal alien"

      2) Not "muslim" - "Muslim".

      3) Not "a racists" - "a racist"

      4) Not "a comunist" - "a communist".

      5) Not "drinikin' " - "drinkin' "

      (My guess is that you like the American party which intends to reduce the education budget ?).

      1. LateNightLarry
        Pint

        A member of the Tea Party Troglodytes, who'd throw the baby out with the bath water because they can't tell the difference ... sounds about right.

        Another beer because I can't get any Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon...

        1. TheTick
          Trollface

          If I didn't know any better I'd say all you respondees just got trolled.

    3. Patrick R
      Facepalm

      not a muslim

      No, he's a decent, family man, citizen.

      -J. McCain.

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