Politics

Washington –  The White House provided on Wednesday a detailed Hawaii birth certificate for President Barack Obama in a bid to silence critics who suggest he was born outside the United States.

Obama obtained and published a standard copy of his Hawaii birth certificate during the 2008 campaign, but claims persisted that the president was actually born in Kenya, his father's homeland.

The ongoing clamor from some quarters prompted the president to ask the Hawaii State Department of Health to make an exception to normal policy and release a copy of Obama's long form birth certificate, White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer said.

"The President's hope is that with this step, we can move on to debating the bigger issues that matter to the American people and the future of the country," Pfeiffer said.

The document released Wednesday, which bears the signatures of Obama's mother, (Stanley) Ann Dunham Obama; the delivery doctor and a registrar, says Barack Hussein Obama II was born at 7:24 p.m. on Aug. 4, 1961, at Kapiolani Maternity and Gynecological Hospital in Honolulu.

Obama held a brief session with the White House press corps after the release of the long form birth certificate.

"I've been puzzled at the degree to which this thing just kept on going," he said of the questions about his birthplace. "We've had every official in Hawaii, Democrat and Republican, every news outlet that has investigated this, confirm that, yes, in fact, I was born in Hawaii, August 4, 1961, in Kapiolani Hospital."

The president said he decided to request the detailed version of his birth certificate after the week of April 10-16, when, according to Obama, media outlets dwelled on the "birther" controversy to the detriment of discussing the competing budget plans put forward by the White House and congressional Republicans.

Citing serious issues facing the country, including high unemployment, soaring gas prices and the challenge of reducing the deficit, he said Americans and their political leaders need to "come together in a bipartisan way and solve these problems."

"But we're not going to be able to do it if we are distracted," Obama said.

"We're not going to be able to do it if we just make stuff up and pretend that facts are not facts. We're not going to be able to solve our problems if we get distracted by sideshows and carnival barkers," the president said, later insisting: "We do not have time for this kind of silliness."

The birther issue has taken on a higher profile in recent weeks thanks to comments from real estate mogul, reality-television star and possible GOP presidential hopeful Donald Trump, who sought Wednesday to take credit for the White House's move to provide the additional document.

"I am really honored to play such a big role in hopefully, hopefully getting rid of this issue," Trump said during a visit to New Hampshire.

It remains to be seen whether the document is authentic, Trump said.