Birthers 'ought to get off this kick,' says Rep. Flake

Rep. Jeff Flake said people who don't believe President Obama was born in the U.S. need to "accept reality."

Responding to a question Thursday on CNN about a recent poll that found a majority of Republican primary voters don't believe President Obama was born in the U.S., Flake said he didn't believe the findings.

"Well, I have a hard time believing that poll," Flake said. "I think that most people understand and accept the reality. The reality is that, yes, he was born in the United States."

Flake said the notion that Obama isn't a U.S. citizen needs to be put to rest.

"Barack Obama is a citizen of the country," Flake said. "We ought to get off this kick. And there are plenty of differences we have with the president between Republicans and Democrats than to spend time on something like this."

From the time Obama took office, polls have found a significant percentage of Americans believe he wasn't born in the United States and is ineligible to be president. Hawaii, Obama's birthplace, has produced his birth certificate.

Critics have complained that some congressional Republicans have either implied or refused to denounce the questions about Obama's citizenship.

After Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) announced his plans to retire from the Senate last week, Flake jumped into the race, becoming the first candidate to officially run for the seat.

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