The issue:
The fact checkers
Willoughby Mariano: writer, researcher
Jim Denery: editor
Jim Tharpe: editor
Analysis:
The headline and the deck both place quotation marks around "dabbled." Apparently the quotation marks are used to show that a Huffington Post reporter ("liberal bloggers") used the term in making the claim as he prefaced a question to White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.
The term ends up the key to the entire story.
Willoughby Mariano:
Dabble generally means to take part in something casually or superficially -- to not take it seriously. We will focus on claims that he did that with birther conspiracies.
Mariano's explanation of "dabble" suffers from ambiguity. A person who dabbles in black magic, for example, may practice the art casually in the sense of spending little time in the pursuit. But we understand the person to be practicing black magic with the expectation that it and its effects are real. By analogy, "dabbling" in birther theories means spending some casual time believing they are serious theories. In that sense they are taken seriously. Dabbling in birther conspiracies ought to mean taking the conspiracy itself seriously, but not seriously enough to spend a serious amount of time or effort on it.
What is the evidence, PolitiFact?
Deal's most widely-publicized brush with birthers took place in November, while Deal was still a congressman. A reporter asked in an online chat if Deal thought Obama was born in the States.Deal's reply implies that he rejected the copy of Obama's Hawaiian "Certification of Live Birth" as a definitive proof of Obama's birth in Hawaii. Is that a birther conspiracy theory? If so, it is at least somewhat different in character from what Wikipedia lists as birtherism:
"I am joining several of my colleagues in the House in writing a letter to the president asking that he release a copy of his birth certificate so we can have an answer to this question," Deal replied.
Barack Obama citizenship conspiracy theories reject the legitimacy of U.S. President Barack Obama's citizenship and his eligibility to be President. Some of these conspiracy theories allege that Obama was born in Kenya, not Hawaii, and that his birth certificate is a forgery.Next piece of evidence, PolitiFact (2)?
Last week, the Deal campaign gave one to PolitiFact Georgia. It's no birther manifesto.That's no help for the claim by "liberal bloggers," even if it falls a bit short of exculpatory for Deal.
Deal wrote, "I accept your assurance you meet that requirement, and in no way intend to show anything but respect for the Office of President and for you personally."
Deal said that his constituents were concerned about the President's citizenship. He asked where he could find a publicly available "birth certificate or other documentary evidence" that lays out Obama's case.
So the letter bolsters the Deal campaign's claim that he is not a birther.
Next piece of evidence, PolitiFact(3)?
In a July 2009 video aired on MSNBC, Deal talked to liberal blogger and activist Mike Stark. Stark provided an unedited version to PolitiFact Georgia.This statement by Deal is consistent with skepticism about the quality of the evidence while showing restraint in drawing any conclusions, such as partaking in conspiracy theories.
"There’s been a lot in the news about Barack Obama’s birth certificate. Do you believe he was born in America and anyone who believes otherwise is a little bit cuckoo?" Stark asked Deal.
"I wouldn’t say that. I have no idea where he was born at," Deal replied.
Deal added this caveat: "I take his word for it. He’s the President and he’s sworn to tell the truth, so I assume that he has."
Next piece of evidence, PolitiFact(4)?
Deal elaborated on his doubts to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in a November 2009 article. He said he had "no reason to think" that Obama is not a legal U.S. citizen but the documentation "leaves many things to be desired."Again, Deal expresses doubts about the quality of the evidence and stops short of subscribing to any conspiracy theory.
"It obviously does not have the signature of a doctor. Most birth certificates or even certificates of live birth have those kinds of verifications," Deal said.
Next piece of evidence, PolitiFact(5)?
Deal had a chance to clarify his position during a January GOP gubernatorial debate. Opponent state Rep. Austin Scott, now a candidate for Congress, accused Deal of "calling for childish things like the president to show his birth certificate."Again, we see skepticism regarding the evidence on the table at the time, but no theory offered or accepted in explanation of the evidence other than accepting the president's citizenship by birth.
"I have simply asked the president, 'tell me where I can refer these constituent inquiries to a source that you think is credible so that we can answer their questions'," Deal replied. "I think that's a reasonable proposition and certainly something that I think the president should respond to. Although at this point he has not."
Next piece of evidence, PolitiFact(6)?
In a February video posted on the Web, Deal distanced himself from birthers by saying "I'm not questioning his legitimacy as the president." But he did not say he accepted Obama's explanation.Here's the video of Deal making the above statement:
Instead, he said this: "I know that some folks have tried to to label this [Deal's letter] as politically incorrect. I want to tell you something. Political incorrectness is paralyzing our society. These kind of things deserve straightforward responses."
PolitiFact offers that Deal "did not say he accepted Obama's explanation." While I had trouble making out the question from the video, it sounded to me as though Deal was responding to a question about the letter he sent to President Obama. Obama reportedly ignored the letter, so what "explanation" was Deal supposed to accept?
PolitiFact Georgia published no additional evidence. So what's the verdict?
So did Deal dabble in birther conspiracies?There is but one claim that Deal treated as though it had substance, that being the degree to which a "certification of live birth" from Hawaii lays to rest the issue of President Obama's citizenship. That certification is pretty good evidence, but the "certificate of live birth," a more detailed form that the state government of Hawaii does not release to the public (or maybe anyone, for all I know) would provide better evidence.
PolitiFact Georgia found no evidence that Deal is a birther. In fact, we found proof to the contrary. But Deal did give birthers the chance to think he was taking some of their theories seriously.
Privately, in an unreleased letter, he told the President that he did "accept" Obama's assurances that he met the office's citizenship requirements. Publicly, Deal expressed doubts about Obama's birth certificate.
The letter was only released now, so birthers were free to fill in the blanks. And it's clear they saw Deal as an ally.
Deal said that all the letter did was relay constituent concerns to the President. But when he sent the letter, he lent birthers a credence that others would not.
Birther claims were discredited by 2008. Deal still treated their claims as if they had substance in 2010.
More to the point, regarding the certification of live birth as an incomplete proof of citizenship is not a conspiracy theory, even if it counts as misguided skepticism. PolitiFact produced no good evidence that Deal "dabbled" in birther conspiracy theories except in the topsy-turvy sense of not taking them seriously. Yet PolitiFact ruled the claim "Mostly True." That's absurd.
The grades:
Willoughby Mariano: F
Jim Denery: F
Jim Tharpe: F
Mind your checks and balances, gents. This story should never have seen the light of day given its conclusion.
Afters:
Find the transcript of Deal's online chat session here.
I'm pleased to say that the context was not significantly misrepresented in the reporting.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please remain on topic and keep coarse language to an absolute minimum. Comments in a language other than English will be assumed off topic.