The Truth, The Whole Truth

Good Sunday morning, Friends,

The presidential campaigns may take a whole new direction as early as later today, if it's determined that any of three suspicious incidents in the last 24 hours turn out to be acts of Islamic terrorism.

In the meantime, we're still dealing with the fallout from Donald Trump's decision to finally drop the birther issue, thereby prolonging it.

Even though he tried to put his five-year reign as Birther-in-Chief  to bed with a one liner, declaring that President Obama was born in the United States "period," a 'lot of people' think he should have gone much further.

'I don't know, but many people say' he owes the President an apology.

He didn't need to preface his flip flop on a "lie" which blamed Hillary Clinton for starting the whole birther thing in the first place.

When does a half-truth become a full lie? Whenever either of the major party candidates
get ahold of it.

This was immediately and universally called out, but the question of Obama's birthplace was most likely first raised by Clinton confidant, staffer, former journalist, and reputed dirty trickster, Sydney Blumenthal.

What gives this credence is that the Obama administration officially banned  Blumenthal from holding any position in Hillary Clinton's state department as retribution for his nasty anti-Obama tactics.

Also, former McClatchy Washington bureau chief, James Asher, claims Blumenthal told him directly that Obama was "born in Kenya," though Blumenthal denies it ever happened.

But there it is, the whole truth, and Trump isn't exactly lying about who started birtherism.

The thing is, the Clinton campaign outright rejected using the argument, believing it was totally false and that Obama's citizenship wasn't in question anyway, regardless of where he was born.

But Donald Trump picked up the ball and (cynically) ran with it...for five years.

Since the day the president released his long form birth certificate from Hawaii in 2011, which should have put this nonsensical non-issue to rest, Trump repeatedly and disingenuously built his political career on it.

It was a conspiracy theory just meaty enough to stitch a contingent of Alt Right "deplorables" together as his base. Throw in a cadre of ultra nationalists, exuberant over his proposal to deport 11 million illegal immigrants, and you've got a movement.

Ironically, both these issues have virtually dissolved for his campaign. However, the movement has hung together--now more of a cult of personality and big enough to give Trump a lead in the polls.

With yesterday's bombings in New Jersey and New York, and the lone wolf stabbing attack of eight at a mall in St. Cloud, Minnesota, we'll see if the polls keep moving toward the candidate who loves to demagogue terrorism.

We've got a one-on-one debate coming a week from tomorrow, and that's fortunate. There won't be any distractions and nowhere to hide. Trump and Clinton will have to prove their mettle.

The candidate of substance will emerge. That's the truth.