Barack Obama says his birthday is Aug. 4.
I have no reason to disbelieve him. It's just that I have no real evidence to support that belief.
After all, Barack Obama has been known to tell a few whoppers.
But, on this one, I suggest we take his word for it. I don't know where he was born, but let's assume he's telling the truth about the date.
I think it's time for us to start thinking about a birthday present.
TRENDING: To DEI for
I would love to tell you that I have secured a billboard facing the White House that asks, "Where's the birth certificate?" Unfortunately, there are no such billboards in Washington. And the few that exist are outrageously expensive – to date well beyond the means of my modest national campaign.
By the way, I am as determined as ever to make this national billboard campaign successful. In fact, I think it is. Ask yourself this question: What else, besides this campaign, could possibly have been responsible for the outburst of talk, discussion, debate, controversy, snide comments and media coverage of Barack Obama's eligibility issue in the last five weeks? I think it's clear that this very low-budget media campaign, stifled, as it were, by three of the largest communications companies controlling billboards, has made an enormous and surprising impact on the national debate.
Am I right or wrong about that?
There have been newspaper stories about the campaign. There have been cable TV newscasts about the campaign. There have been talk-radio shows discussing the eligibility issue that have never before broached the topic. The Internet is abuzz with debate.
This was pretty much a dead issue before I launched this billboard campaign. Now it's alive again.
And before I get back to the subject of Barack Obama's birthday, I want to try to set the record straight on a misunderstanding that, I believe, has severely hampered the campaign in recent days.
While it's true that CBS, Clear Channel and Lamar Advertising have all banned this campaign nationwide, that does not spell the end of this effort – far from it. There is no shortage of billboards to acquire for this campaign. There are literally hundreds of thousands available to us through other major providers and through independent companies eager to work with us.
But this misunderstanding that we've somehow been shut out of advertising has resulted in a precipitous drop in contributions toward the billboard campaign. While we have a few more billboards on their way, we've had to stop our aggressive pursuit of more because the money has all but dried up.
Some have suggested redirecting the effort to other media. Some have suggested boycotting CBS, Clear Channel and Lamar. Some have presented other alternatives. But I'm determined to stick with the billboards that reframed the eligibility debate in this country practically overnight. We've only just begun, as Karen Carpenter would say. You don't change horses in midstream.
All we need is money to keep expanding the billboard campaign that has shown such promise so fast.
But enough about that. Back to my idea for Obama's birthday. And, I'll be honest, I cannot organize this surprise. I can only pass on the idea for someone else to follow up. But I think it's a good one.
I would suggest that on Tuesday, Aug. 4, people in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area take their automobiles and trucks sporting "Where's the birth certificate?" bumper stickers to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. I would suggest that they carry in those cars "Where's the birth certificate?" rally and yard signs and walk around the White House with them. And I would suggest that they be prepared to say a few articulate and well-reasoned words to the media present there that day to cover the festivities.
Maybe even a few large trucks might want to participate. I'll pay for the artwork; you pay for the diesel.
Take videos. Take pictures. And spread the word.
Wouldn't that be a nice birthday surprise for Barack Obama?
Wouldn't that be a way to keep this issue alive?