Add Champaign mayor Jerry Schweighart to the short and oddball list of skeptics about Barack Obama's birthplace.
In a video shot by YouTube user illinoisgrads and posted on The Capitol Fax Friday, the mayor was asked, "What do you think of Obama?" The mayor delivered a surprising response. (Scroll down for video.)
"I don't think he's an American, personally," Schweighart responded, unflinching.
When the baffled interviewer asked for details, he said, "You know, if you're not willing to produce an original certificate, a birth certificate, then you've got something to hide."
Of course, President Obama produced a copy of his birth certificate during the 2008 presidential race, which can still be found here. Nonetheless, Schweighart joins a long list of public figures including Missouri Congressman Roy Blunt, Alabama Senator Richard Shelby and Sarah Palin, to express some doubt about President Obama's birthplace.
When the Associated Press called Schweighart to make sure he wasn't in a temporarily altered state, he indeed stood by the remarks. From the AP report:
"Oh sure," he said. "My stand, and I don't understand why everybody is so upset, is he's never shown the original birth certificate."
Champaign is a mid-sized city in central Illinois that's home to the University of Illinois's flagship campus. A left-leaning university town, Obama carried the City of Champaign in the 2008 presidential election by a more than 2-to-1 margin over John McCain.
Mayor Schweighart is up for re-election in 2011.
Watch Schweighart's answer:
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