Inside the Beltway

NEWS AND OPINION:

REBIRTH OF BIRTHER?

Though hubbub over President Obama’s birth certificate ultimately became a Democratic fundraising tool, the “birther” factor won’t die, insists one Republican presidential hopeful. Author, attorney and self-described “muckraker” Andy Martin — who has based much of his campaign on repeated investigations of Mr. Obama’s heritage and eligibility to hold office — is headed back to Hawaii to resume his inquiry into the president’s family history.

“The mainstream media pronounced the ’birther’ movement dead and buried in April. But that is not the case ’out there.’ What has surprised me on the national campaign trail is the depth and persistence of the birther movement. People still do not trust Obama, they do not trust his answers. They do not believe his story. And I keep digging, quietly, patiently, honestly,” Mr. Martin explains. He’ll arrive in Honolulu on Tuesday.

“Some people were afraid to speak with me in earlier trips to Honolulu. Maybe they will open up on this trip,” he adds. “And if you don’t think my presidential campaign is going anywhere, just keep an eye on what Obama and company are doing. They always have their eyes and their operatives on me. Frankly, I don’t blame them.”

C-RATED

“The following preview has been approved by all audiences by the American Conservative Union. The event advertised is rated C/Conservative. Content inappropriate for liberals or rinos. Pervasive Constitutional content and references to freedom.”

- Parody ratings announcement for the American Conservative Union’s 60-second promotional spot for “CPAC-FL 2011,” which begins in Orlando, Fla., on Friday.

R-RATED

A 10-foot fake nuclear missile with a ticking clock, “yellow cake uranium cake,” a 10-foot tall “Ahmadinejad puppet,” a chuppah, a mini-play titled “Mahmoud Gets Married.”

Uh-oh. They’re all components of a street theater protest titled “Mahmoud Gets Married” planned for outside the United Nations on Thursday, staged by Iran 180, an activist group opposing Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons. Organizers say their group has support from regional branches of the NAACP and the Anti-Defamation League, among other groups.

“We are taking the metaphor of two dictators in bed with each other to a new extreme,” says spokesman Chris DeVito.

NOT RATED

President Obama’s re-election campaign machine is fired up and on a roll from Manhattan to Hollywood, where the president will appear in two dazzling fundraisers with all the Tinseltown trimmings on Monday. But it may be too much, too soon.

“Unfortunately, the President has made a decision that he is going to go into full campaign mode now, 14 months before the election, and that is his decision,” says House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, Virginia Republican.

“What he is going to find when he goes traveling out to Republican districts across the country is that people don’t want their taxes raised. And every time he goes to identify a bridge or another project that is yet not funded and is in disrepair, he is going to remind people that it was his stimulus that was unable to deliver the needed funds to address those projects,” Mr. Cantor adds.

BIG PRONOUNCEMENT

“I think at the end of the day Rick Perry will win the nomination, and I think he’ll win the election.”

(Former presidential hopeful and Forbes CEO Steve Forbes, to Yahoo’s “Daily Ticker.”)

ROSE-COLORED GLASSES

Are political parties getting their news from different sources? Asked if the economy would be better or “fully recovered” in one year, six-out-of 10 Democrats replied, yes. Uh-huh. Of course. Among Republicans, 28 percent expect a recovery — all this according to Gallup.

“With the economy and unemployment firmly atop Americans’ list of the most important problem facing the United States, both the health of the overall economy and Americans’ perceptions of its health have obvious implications for President Obama as he seeks re-election next year,” observes Gallup analyst Jeffrey Jones.

CIVIL DISCUSSION

Sure to get Civil War buffs buzzing: Binghamton University historian J. David Hacker says that the Civil War took a toll far more severe than previously estimated. Based on a new analysis of census data, Mr. Hacker says the war’s dead numbered about 750,000, which is 20 percent higher than the commonly cited figure of 620,000. His findings will be published in Civil War History in December.

“The traditional estimate has become iconic. It’s been quoted for the last hundred years or more,” Mr. Hacker says. “If you go with that total for a minute — 620,000 — the number of men dying in the Civil War is more than in all other American wars from the American Revolution through the Korean War combined. And consider that the American population in 1860 was about 31 million people, about one-tenth the size it is today. If the war were fought today, the number of deaths would total 6.2 million.”

POLL DU JOUR

• 52 percent of U.S. voters say that, regardless of whom they support, the Republican candidate will win the 2012 presidential election.

• 82 percent of Republicans, 51 percent of independents, 31 percent of Democrats, 73 percent of conservatives and 27 percent of liberals agree.

• 38 percent of voters overall say President Obamawill win in 2012.

• 12 percent of Republicans, 36 percent of independents, 59 percent of Democrats, 20 percent of conservatives and 57 percent of liberals agree.

• 50 percent of voters overall would support Mr. Obama if the election were held today, 41 percent would support Rick Perry.

• 49 percent of voters would support Mr. Obama, 44 percent would support Sarah Palin.

• 46 percent would support Mr. Obama, 44 percent would support Mitt Romney.

Source: A McClatchy/Marist poll of 1,042 adults conducted Sept. 13-14.

• Rants, raves, polite statements to jharper@washingtontimes.com