COMMERCE, Mich. - Speaking to a sea of voters here Friday at a rally with his running mate, Representative Paul D. Ryan, Mitt Romney seemed to question the authenticity of President Obama's birth certificate.
“Now I love being home in this place where Ann and I were raised, where both of us were born,†Mr. Romney said. “Ann was born in Henry Ford Hospital. I was born in Harper Hospital. No one's ever asked to see my birth certificate. They know that this is the place that we were born and raised.â€
Mr. Obama, who was born in Hawaii and shared his birth certificate with the national media, has long been dogged with “birther†rumors, from those who falsely question where he was actually born in the United States.
Mr. Romney is a Michigan native - his father, George Romney, was the state's governor - and his campaign quickly scrambled to walk back his comments, saying he was simply sharing his Michigan p ride.
“The governor has always said, and has repeatedly said, he believes the president was born here in the United States,†said Kevin Madden, a Romney adviser. “He was only referencing that Michigan, where he is campaigning today, is the state where he himself was born and raised.â€
But few in the crowd interpreted the comment that way, and as voters were still streaming out, Mr. Obama's campaign blasted out a critical statement.
“Throughout this campaign, Governor Romney has embraced the most strident voices in his party instead of standing up to them,†said Ben LaBolt, a spokesman for the president's campaign, in an e-mail statement. “It's one thing to give the stage in Tampa to Donald Trump, Sheriff Arpaio, and Kris Kobach. But Governor Romney's decision to directly enlist himself in the birther movement should give pause to any rational voter across America.â€
