Birther of a Nation

Wednesday following President Obama's brief statement and the release of the long-form birth certificate was an extraordinary day for television news.  It seemed to unleash pent-up frustration and anger among television journalists who had been covering the birther story with the sort of veneer of objectivity that has proven both saving grace and, when exploited, a dangerous weakness (specifically in the outrageously scurrilous attacks on John Kerry's Vietnam experiences in the 2004 campaign that has since given us the term "swiftboating.")

I noted the anger first among black journalists, but it was widespread beyond any category.  Andrea Mitchell and Chuck Todd were among the first to respond after President Obama's statement, characterizing Donald Trump's innuendos and charges as racist.  That turned out to be just the beginning.

Before the end of the day, Chris Matthews grilled some birther politicians so relentlessly that one was struck utterly speechless.  Lawrence O'Donnell eviscerated the Orly lady and ended the interview abruptly when she refused to respond directly on the matter of the birth certificate.  O'Donnell had earlier directly called out the entertainment division of his own network, NBC, to immediately announce what Trump's commitments were to the network, because they already know whether he is going to be in position to actually run for President.  On CNN, historian Douglas Brinkley called on NBC to dump Trump or face a consumer boycott.  I've seen reference to Bob Shieffer on CBS grilling Trump and accusing him of racism.  Rachel Maddow called out members of the media for treating the birther charges as if they had some reasonable basis, specifically focusing on Ed Henry, the winger White House reporter for CNN.

But a mere recitation of some of these responses doesn't do justice to the disgust and anger they expressed, nor to their vocabulary.  Trump in particular was called out for race-baiting, called a racist enabler, a clown, a disgrace. (He continued this later Wednesday, when he raised more questions about President Obama's education, which I think was the bridge too far for a lot of black journalists in particular.)  Matthews referred to all the GOPers who joined the birthers or hinted that they might have a point as having checked into a roach motel, and that all were now sullied and indicted.

I don't know that I've heard such direct talk or seen such emotion before.  It's clear already that as President Obama predicted, there are still some who will not let even this additional evidence concerning his birthplace convince them.  But it's also clear that as least as long as Trump is a possible candidate or other candidates and officeholders continue to push the birther theme, there are a lot of voices in the media that are going to keep calling them out for what they are, and what this represents.