Here's a simple fact: President Barack Obama is an American citizen. He was born in Hawaii. ---

It has been proven, yet somehow there are people who simply cannot let it go, and it is sadly not just a fringe population of conspiracy freaks. The Deseret News has a new Dan Jones poll showing that 23 percent of Utahns are not sure about Obama's birth, and nine percent actually believe he was not born in this country.  By way of comparison, those who are at least skeptical about Obama's birth are about the same number of people who vote for Democrats in statewide races. 

The absurdity of this argument has no end, and the "birthers" staged antics at town hall meetings is not really democracy in action so much as it is streaking at Wimbledon.  These are people who seem desperate for attention, and I suspect that nothing will ever sway their opinions.

The truly amazing part is that the "birthers" don't get they are actually helping Obama with their shouting, because the more they talk, the crazier the entire Republican Party appears. To their credit, Republican leaders do understand that fact, even in Utah. In the Deseret News piece, state party chairman Dave Hansen states that Obama was born in the U.S. and wants the debate focused on legitimate criticisms: "There are important issues to criticize President Obama and his administration on. Issues that are critical to the future of this country."