Since release of birth certificate, birthers have dwindled from 15% to only 20%

[Joe Republic]

http://today.yougov.com/news/2012/07/11/birthers-are-still-back/




And for sh[inks] and giggles:

[Phony Moderate]

I wish there were a real life ignore button for the Republican Party.

[Redalgo]

It's gotten to the point where I don't even discuss this issue with folks anymore. The birthers I've met, including one of my friends, are completely impervious to and doggedly rationalize away all evidence that can be provided.

[Bleach Blonde Bad Built Butch Bodies for Biden]

[CLARENCE 2015!]

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

I don't understand the swing in the middle.  What would cause a swing back to more birtherism?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Here's a question: What portion of those who respond "not born in US" are birthers? I doubt that most are. It's likely that a large portion are just ignorant - they don't know where Obama was born, and they don't care. I remember seeing a poll, months ago, that included another politician as a control, but I don't remember how the percentages compared.

That would explain the "Not Sures", but not the "Falses".

[Mr. Morden]

That would explain the "Not Sures", but not the "Falses".

No, it could explain some amount of either response. How many people realize that Obama being foreign-born would be an issue? How many people hear the question and answer "false" based on a vague recollection of hearing that Obama went to school in Indonesia, for example?

Yes, I think there are quite a few people in that category.  People here tend to vastly overestimate the political knowledge of average joes.  There are surely plenty of people who just have some vague idea that there's a controversy over Obama's birth or something, and might think that he was born in another country because of his foreign sounding last name....yet not realize that that would make his presidency illegitimate.  Heck, some of these polls show at least a solid minority of supposed "birthers" who are Democrats with favorable opinions of Obama.  I doubt these people really think there's a conspiracy.  They just don't understand that Obama not being born in the US would be a constitutional problem.

There are even some who correctly believe that Obama was born in Hawaii, yet don't realize that Hawaii is part of the USA.  PPP's poll from a few years ago found 10% of Americans either didn't think Hawaii was part of the US or weren't sure:

http://publicpolicypolling.blogspot.com.au/2009/08/deeper-look-at-birthers.html

[Mr. Morden]

I don't understand the swing in the middle.  What would cause a swing back to more birtherism?

The birth certificate brought attention to the issue, and some of the people who were paying attention started believing he was born in the US, but since then the release of the birth certificate has been forgotten, and we've reverted to the status quo.

Average joes have incredibly short political attention spans.

[minionofmidas]

That would explain the "Not Sures", but not the "Falses".

No, it could explain some amount of either response. How many people realize that Obama being foreign-born would be an issue? How many people hear the question and answer "false" based on a vague recollection of hearing that Obama went to school in Indonesia, for example?

Yes, I think there are quite a few people in that category.  People here tend to vastly overestimate the political knowledge of average joes.  There are surely plenty of people who just have some vague idea that there's a controversy over Obama's birth or something, and might think that he was born in another country because of his foreign sounding last name....yet not realize that that would make his presidency illegitimate.  Heck, some of these polls show at least a solid minority of supposed "birthers" who are Democrats with favorable opinions of Obama.  I doubt these people really think there's a conspiracy.  They just don't understand that Obama not being born in the US would be a constitutional problem.

There are even some who correctly believe that Obama was born in Hawaii, yet don't realize that Hawaii is part of the USA.  PPP's poll from a few years ago found 10% of Americans either didn't think Hawaii was part of the US or weren't sure:

http://publicpolicypolling.blogspot.com.au/2009/08/deeper-look-at-birthers.html

Heck, some might be conspiracy nuts who believe Obama's presidency is technically illegitimate simply because they lap up all conspiracy theories, and don't let it affect their opinion of him. Those politically supportive of him would be only a subset of this group.

[The Mikado]

I don't understand the swing in the middle.  What would cause a swing back to more birtherism?

The 2012 election.

EDIT:  And, of course, out in FWD: RE: RE: RE: RE: RE: land, the "Sheriff Joe has done it again!  The renegade Phoenix sheriff is investigating Obama's birth certificate!"

[NVGonzalez]