The Donald's cynical publicity play

The maybe-future presidential candidate Donald Trump has been unavoidable recently, pushing the debunked "birther" belief that President Barack Obama wasn't born in the United States.

The real estate mogul and reality TV star has adopted the issue with the fervor of a convert -- or an attention-starved publicity seeker. If the former, he's just wrong. If the latter, then he should find a less shameful way to promote himself and his television show.

Obama released a certification of live birth from the state of Hawaii back in 2008. Officials from that state have verified its authenticity and said his original birth certificate is properly on file. A notice announcing his birth was published in the Advertiser, Honolulu's main newspaper, in 1961.

That should be enough to put to rest the question of whether he's a natural-born citizen qualified under the Constitution to be president. But all evidence to the contrary, a noisy contingent apparently remains convinced that the nation's first black president is a scam artist perpetrating the most audacious long con in American history. Trump, who is either one of them or cynically pandering for their support, said he has sent investigators to Hawaii in search of the facts. Enough already.

Conspiracy theories never die, but Trump should stop feeding this beast.