Hawaii governor wants to step up action against 'birthers'

Hawaii's new governor wants his state to release more information in order to prove to skeptics that President Obama was born in his state and is a U.S. citizen. 

Gov. Neil Abercrombie (D), a former congressman, expressed extreme disappointment that people still wrongly doubt Obama's place of birth.

“It’s an insult to his mother and to his father, and I knew his mother and father; they were my friends, and I have an emotional interest in that,” Abercrombie told The New York Times in a phone interview Thursday. “It’s an emotional insult. It is disrespectful to the president; it is disrespectful to the office.” 

The governor is asking the state attorney general and its health department head to see if he can release additional information pertaining to the president's birth in Hawaii on Aug. 4, 1961.

Obama first faced false charges that he was born in Kenya — as his father was — during the 2008 presidential race. His campaign at the time released a birth certificate from the Hawaii Department of Health, but that did not stop so-called "birthers" from doubting the legitimacy of his presidency.

In order to occupy the Oval Office, a president must be a natural-born citizen of the United States, be at least 35 years old, and have been a permanent resident of the U.S. for at least 14 years. 

Abecrombie told the Times that he knew the Obamas when Barack was a baby and remembers them bringing him to social events. The governor believes that the "birther" allegations are purely political.

"He’s a big boy; he can take sticks and stones. But there’s no reason on earth to have the memory of his parents insulted by people whose motivation is solely political,” Abercrombie, 72, said. “Let’s put this particular canard to rest.”