As folks know I am a COLB denier. I don’t run with the birthers and spent many hours debunking their insanity. And I have little respect for those who have latched onto this nonsense. The birthers are not as bad as the truthers, but definitely worse than the AGW alarmists (at least there was some hint of math and science behind that one).

As Allah Pundit notes at Hot Air Governor Palin came very close to destroying her political future when she was asked about President Obama’s birth certificate being a possible issue in 2012. I say close because you can read her answer two ways. The one way is the way the left will latch onto try and tar her with birther madness.

But I read her response as trying address the general concept of probing a candidates background and a bit of an attempt not to ridicule the birthers:

Would you make the birth certificate an issue if you ran?

I think the public, rightfully, is still making it an issue. I don’t have a problem with that. I don’t know if I would have to bother to make it an issue ’cause I think there are enough members of the electorate who still want answers.

Do you think it’s a fair question to be looking at?

I think it’s a fair question, just like I think past associations and past voting record — all of that is fair game. You know, I’ve got to tell you, too: I think our campaign, the McCain/Palin campaign didn’t do a good enough job in that area. We didn’t call out Obama and some of his associates on their records and what their beliefs were and perhaps what their future plans were. And I don’t think that that was fair to voters to not have done our jobs as candidates and as a campaign to bring to light a lot of the things that now we’re seeing made manifest in the administration.

I mean, truly, if your past is fair game and your kids are fair game, certainly Obama’s past should be. I mean, we want to treat men and women equally, right?

Hey, you know, that’s a great point, in that weird conspiracy-theory freaky thing that people talk about that Trig isn’t my real son. And a lot of people say, “Well you need to produce his birth certificate! You need to prove that he’s your kid!” Which we have done. But yeah, so maybe we could reverse that and use the same [unintelligible]-type thinking on them.

It was one of those topical tight rope walks (which all candidates do). Sadly, it was a tight rope she need not walk. The Birthers are not worth reaching out to because you then lose the other 95% of the country.

Her follow statement makes that clear – she is not going to become the birther candidate.

Voters have every right to ask candidates for information if they so choose. I’ve pointed out that it was seemingly fair game during the 2008 election for many on the left to badger my doctor and lawyer for proof that Trig is in fact my child. Conspiracy-minded reporters and voters had a right to ask… which they have repeatedly. But at no point – not during the campaign, and not during recent interviews – have I asked the president to produce his birth certificate or suggested that he was not born in the United States.

I am not surprised former Governor of Alaska from small town America is going to stumble here and there. It is part of her common roots charm. America is fed up with fancy dressed, smooth talking, say anything politicians. Being imperfect will not destroy Palin’s relationship with America, because it is a core part of her relationship to American.

Not to mention that America will give her a lot of slack after the un-American crap thrown at her personally last year. The left, in their usual harsh clumsiness, provided her a huge shield of sympathy.

Tags: Birthers, Sarah Palin