Half Of GOP Primary Voters Say Obama Not Born In US
LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Nearly half of Republican voters say they don't believe President Barack Obama was born in the U.S.A.
Perhaps even more startling: those same voters are overwhelmingly in favor of Sarah Palin making a run for the White House.
A new survey suggests the race for who will be the GOP nominee to challenge Obama's reelection campaign remains wide open, with Mitt Romney cutting into the lead of former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee — and Palin fighting to keep her lead over former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
A slim majority of GOP primary voters nationwide — 51 percent — doubt Obama was born in Hawaii, while 28 percent are confident of his stated birthplace.
Among that majority, an overwhelming number of voters support a Palin presidential run, contrasted with those so-called "birthers" who believe the birthplace issue may cast doubt on Obama's eligibility to be president.
"Any thought that the birther theory has been put to rest can be thrown out the window with this poll," said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. "That view is still widely held in Republican circles."
Despite the release of Obama's birth certificate during the 2008 campaign, skeptics say Obama is constitutionally ineligible because he is not considered a "natural born Citizen" according to constitutional standards.
Obama's father, Barack Obama Sr., was a Kenyan national, while his mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, was born and raised in Wichita, Kansas.
Public Policy Polling surveyed 400 Republican primary voters nationwide from February 11th to 13th, with an estimated margin of error is +/-4.9%.
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