Perry revives debunked 'birther' issue

Texas Gov. Rick Perry was supposed to be answering questions about his presidential bid. Instead, he raised more.

Perry undercut a strategy to reboot his struggling campaign with a new economic message, including his call Tuesday for a flat tax and spending overhaul, by repeatedly injecting an issue that most Americans thought had been put to rest.

Perry cast doubt about President Barack Obama's birthplace, suggesting that Obama may have been born outside the United States. This spring, as would-be candidate Donald Trump rocketed partly by pushing "birther" conspiracies, Obama debunked the claims by releasing his long-form birth certificate to prove that he was born in Hawaii.

In Parade magazine Sunday, Perry said he does not know if Obama's birth certificate is authentic. He continued to press the point in an interview with CNBC and The New York Times that aired Tuesday, saying: "It's a good issue to keep alive. . . . It's fun to poke [Obama] a little bit."

Meanwhile yesterday, Perry's campaign spokesman Mark Miner said, "It's a nonissue. The governor is focused on improving the economy and creating jobs, issues Americans are truly concerned about."

Still, some powerful Republicans condemned the comments and sought to focus on Obama's policies. Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour said, "Any other issue that gets injected into the campaign is not good for the Republicans." -- The Washington Post