Happy Birthday, Mr. President!

U.S. President Barack Obama puts his arm around Hearst White House columnist Helen Thomas after presenting her with cupcakes in honor of her birthday in the James Brady Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, August 4, 2009. Thomas, who turns 89 years old today, shares the same birthday as Obama, who is 48 years old.

REUTERS/Jim Young

Barry Soetoro, or rather Barack Obama as he is commonly known, turned 48 today.

Eugene Robinson for the WaPo begins:

If there's been a more clinically insane political phenomenon in my lifetime than the "birthers," I've missed it.

Scott Malensek for FA writes a list of "clinically insane" conspiracy phenomenon, mostly pushed by those on the left, the last 8 years:

why do the Birthers make the left wig out so much if they’re so irrelevant? I believe it’s because it reminds the left that their entire political motivation for the past 11 yrs has been based on conspiracy theories that were as weak or infinitely more weak than that of the Birthers’.

It reminds them of all the conspiracy theories they’ve bought since 98;

the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy (not a bj from an intern)
the election stolen by Fox News and big oil payoffs to Supreme Court
Bush was AWOL and Dan Rather has docs to prove it
Bush wasted a govt surplus when he took office
911-inside job to provide excuse for invading Iraq
911-Bush Knew and let it happen
911-no plane hit Pentagon
911-explosives not fire melting steel
911-the Joos did it
911-Building 7 was blown up to cover up the evidence of the U.S. attack on the U.S.
Bush LET Obama get away in Tora Bora
Iraq- 17-month Rush to war
Iraq-never a WMD threat
Iraq-Bush knew there were no stockpiles of WMD
Iraq-Bush wanted to avenge daddy
Iraq-Bush was told by God to invade Iraq
Iraq-3million civilians killed; mostly by trigger happy, racist, redneck grunts who cling to guns and God when they get home
Iraq-no ties at all to AQ
Iraq-nothing to do w War on Terror
Iraq just blood for Daddy’s oil friends
Iraq-a Dick Cheney/Haliburton retirement fund gimmick
Iraq-gonna draft if Bush is re-elected in 04
Iran-Bush is gonna bomb Iran in June 05 if re-elected (thank you Scott Ritter)
Iran-has a right to nukes, doesn’t have nukes, doesn’t want nukes, and could be trusted w nukes
Iran-Bush will invade because Joos control him and want to use him to takeover the world
2004 Bush refused to sign Kyoto so 4 hurricanes in 1yr are his fault (saw a billboard of this one in Fla)
2005 Bush did nothing for New Orleans when Katrina hit because he hates black people
2006 Democrats will end the war in Iraq
2006 Democrats will end deficit spending
2006 Democrats will balance budget
2006 Democrats will fix healthcare
2006 Democrats will lower gas prices
2007-2009 everything is Bush’s fault even though he’s a lame duck

I believe President Obama is more than thrilled to fan the flames of birther conspiracy, because it provides a distraction and a cover as he tries to shove radical healthcare reform up our rectums....which, incidentally, is in itself a conspiracy theory.