The Occasional Observer

Yes--in the grand scheme of things, the guy is basically a goof.

But he just made the most powerful man on the planet finally cow-tow to his demand and show the birth certificate. Not that I have any reason to believe that this issue will be put to rest--there's plenty of ammo for all of the conspiracy theorists to blast away with.

Generally, the best way to deal with someone beneath you in standing who makes what you believe is an outrageous demand or comment is to tell them to shut the hell up. Obama could have easily said that the proper authorities had already reviewed the necessary documentation and Trump was out of line by insisting to see it. By doing things this way, Obama gave Trump validity.

And to make matters worse, O waited to interrupt Trump's press conference until the point when the Donald started talking about the real issues of taxing Chinese products and severing job outsourcing with India. Within seconds, Obama came sprinting to the podium looking like he just finished a 5K. That reeked of desperation to shut Trump up and then was topped by calling him a "carnival barker."

All of this will just fuel Trump's already massive ego further. The guy is a showman and his spotlight just got even bigger.

One other note on Trump's speech--he played his hand perfectly. His next move looks like it's going to be attacking Obama's academic record. Trump insinuated that Obama was not a great student (from verifiable accounts), yet managed to get into Columbia and then Harvard. So he basically hinted at Obama being a "token" student and did it without looking racist.

Well played, crazy, bad-hair man...well played.