HONOLULU — Hosting a major summit in his
native Hawaii for the first time, President Barack Obama couldn't resist a jab
at political opponents who question his birth certificate and say he is not
American.
"I want to thank our Hawaiian hosts for
the great hospitality," said Obama, attending a business forum on the eve
of the main Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in his birth city
of Honolulu on the island of Oahu.
"As many of you know, this is my
birthplace," he said. "I know that was contested for a while, but I
can actually show you the hospital if you want to go down there," he said,
drawing laughter and applause from the audience.
Obama in April released his detailed birth
certificate in a bid to quell the controversy, which has dogged him since he
was a little-known candidate in 2008 but gained traction this year as the 2012
White House race heats up.
The US Constitution specifies that presidents
and vice presidents must be "natural born" citizens of the United
States and conservative pundits have fanned the row to raise questions about
Obama's political legitimacy.
Obama has made a joke of it before. In May, he
tried to rake in campaign cash with a "Made in the USA" campaign mug.
The white mug comes with a picture of the
beaming president on the front, and a reduced rendition of his birth
certificate on the back.
His certificate listed "Barack Hussein
Obama II" as born on August 4, 1961 at 7:24 pm in Kapiolani Maternity and
Gynecological hospital in Honolulu.
Sitting down Saturday for an interview with
Boeing CEO James McNerney as he kicked off APEC summit events with a business
gathering, a jovial Obama said he would have to get used to wearing formal
dress on the idyllic Pacific island.
"In all my years of living in Hawaii and
visiting Hawaii, this is the first time that I've ever worn a suit," he
said. "So it feels a little odd."
AFP
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