President Obama capitulated Wednesday to the freak show, using the White House podium to address a specious rumor championed by a reality television star, sternly warning the nation can’t be distracted by “carnival barkers.” And in engaging on an issue that the administration had long viewed as beneath public discussion, Obama makes a bet that he can take the reins as the ringmaster in a political circus that could present long-term political perils for Republicans and convince the American public that he’s the responsible adult in a political arena increasingly filled by sideshow attractions.
Some Democrats worry, however, that Obama waited too long to address the controversy and that his decision to enter the fray will only add stature to a conspiracy cabal whose tenacity and staying power have begun to infect the population at large.
“This has become more than an obsession among the lunatic fringe,” worried one Democratic strategist. “Mainstream voters have started to wonder why the question was still dangling. This all just feels completely personal, the decision not to release it and now the decision to finally relent.”
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