ARMY COLONEL REFUSES TO GO TO AFGHANISTAN, claiming that he wants to see President Obama’s birth certificate as proof that Obama is his commander in chief and thus his deployment order is legal.

It’s a sad story in that the “birther” controversy gives more ammunition to the liberals who insist that they must be part-and parcel of the Tea Party movement.

What I find more disturbing than the doctor’s refusal (video here) is the reminder of President Obama’s incredible disdain for the American people. He had the opportunity when campaigning for the presidency to defuse the entire “birther” controversy by simply going home, rummaging through his records, pulling out his personal copy of his birth certificate, and passing it around at the next available press opportunity saying something like “Take a look, photograph it if you wish, but return it to me as I’ll need it to get my D.C. driver’s license.”

And for those of you who say “Huh?” let me ask: how many of you who are say, under 50, don’t have a copy of your – and your children's – birth certificates at home? I do – and mine is a pre-Xerox photostat of the Department of State certificate of live birth for a couple living overseas at the time of birth. Today you damn near have to have a certified copy of your birth certificate to get a job, to get a passport, to get a driver’s license, to enroll in school. Practically speaking, you need to buy a pack of cigarettes, a beer, or go to a night club that serves alcohol.

Obama had a chance to defuse the whole question at the very outset – and he deliberately chose not to.