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Perry in U-turn on Obama birth issue
Source: Agencies |
October 27, 2011, Thursday
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REPUBLICAN presidential candidate Rick Perry backtracked from comments that indicated he doubted President Barack Obama was a United States citizen, complicating his efforts to right his troubled campaign and leading some Republicans to question whether he's done irreparable damage to his run by dabbling in the "birther" controversy.
Perry's comments in recent days about Obama's birthplace have overshadowed the Texas governor's unveiling of his economic plan, a move aimed at returning to the top contender tier in the Republican primary race, after falling behind former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and businessman Herman Cain.
Speculation about Obama's birthplace has swirled among conservatives for years. As mogul Donald Trump fanned the issue earlier this year, Obama released his long-form birth certificate and try to put the issue to rest. Obama's father was born in Kenya, and some believe Obama was too, which would make him ineligible to be president.
Some Republicans privately worry that Perry's comments about Obama's birth certificate may have endeared him to the party's conservative wing but also may have started to marginalize Perry from the larger electorate.
Perhaps for that reason, Perry tried to put the issue to rest in an interview with two Florida news organizations.
Asked whether he had any doubt that Obama was a US citizen, Perry said: "I have no doubt about it" but suggested that raising the issue is "fun" and that people should "lighten up a little bit."
Perry's comments in recent days about Obama's birthplace have overshadowed the Texas governor's unveiling of his economic plan, a move aimed at returning to the top contender tier in the Republican primary race, after falling behind former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and businessman Herman Cain.
Speculation about Obama's birthplace has swirled among conservatives for years. As mogul Donald Trump fanned the issue earlier this year, Obama released his long-form birth certificate and try to put the issue to rest. Obama's father was born in Kenya, and some believe Obama was too, which would make him ineligible to be president.
Some Republicans privately worry that Perry's comments about Obama's birth certificate may have endeared him to the party's conservative wing but also may have started to marginalize Perry from the larger electorate.
Perhaps for that reason, Perry tried to put the issue to rest in an interview with two Florida news organizations.
Asked whether he had any doubt that Obama was a US citizen, Perry said: "I have no doubt about it" but suggested that raising the issue is "fun" and that people should "lighten up a little bit."
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