Online Journal

In a press conference this morning, President Obama announced the official release of his "long form" birth certificate, a move his administration believes will silence the "carnival barkers" who have been questioning the president's place of birth for two and a half years.

"Two weeks ago, when the Republican house put forth a budget that would have huge consequences, potentially, for the country and I launched my proposal...during that entire week, the dominant news story was not about these monumental issues we face as a nation. It was about my birth certificate," President Obama said in the 9:45am news conference from the White House briefing room.

"We are not going to be able to solve these problems if we get distracted by sideshows and carnival barkers," the president concluded.

Questions about Obama's birth certificate have been raised by many political adversaries over the years, from the Clintons to John McCain to Tea Party protesters. But after two newspaper birth announcements, a signed affidavit from the Hawaii health department, and a "short form" document being released on the Internet, some still question the validity of the Obama presidency.

The most recent "carnival barker" has been billionaire Donald Trump who, in a will-he-won't-he potential bid for the presidency in 2012, has once again brought this issue to the forefront. In a news conference from Portsmouth, NH, Trump again commented on the birth certificate issue, this time reacting to the release of the birth certificate document. As recently as Tuesday, Trump--who claimed to have a team of investigators looking into the issue in Hawaii--said he had heard that the certificate was missing.

"I'm very proud of myself because I've accomplished something that nobody else has been able to accomplish," Trump announced as he arrived in Portsmouth, N.H., for what looked like a campaign swing, to the news that Obama had released the certificate. "I am really honored, frankly, to have played such a big role in hopefully--hopefully--getting rid of this issue."