JULIE PACE, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says he's releasing his long-form birth certificate because the country doesn't have time for the "distraction" and "silliness" of questions being persistently raised about where he was born.
The president spoke at the White House Wednesday after taking the unexpected step of releasing the document, which supplements Hawaii's official certification of the president's birth there. Obama had released that during the campaign.
Polls show large numbers of Republicans continue to doubt Obama is a natural born citizen eligible to be president. Real estate mogul Donald Trump had seized on the issue as he weighs a GOP candidacy.
Obama said the nation will solve its problems only if it's not distracted by such issues.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.
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