President Obama Finally Shows Full Birth Certificate, And Local Residents Weigh In

President Barack Obama finally put to bed questions surrounding his American citizenship yesterday when he released his full birth certificate, proving that he was in fact born in the state of Hawaii.

For the last three years, the president's citizenship has been in question by supporters of the birther movement and some key members of the Republican party.

In the U.S. Congress, 12 members of the Republican party stood behind the Birther Bill, controversial legislation that would require presidential candidates present their "long-form birth certificate or two or more other permitted documents" in order to get on the ballot in the state.

Recent polls showed that 45 percent of Republicans did not believe President Obama was born in the United States, while 22 percent said they were not sure. In total, 67 percent (two-thirds) of Republicans questioned President Barack Obama's citizenship.

Several members of the press even expressed doubts: "Just show us, and it will be over," said one Fox News reporter.

Finally, President Barack Obama did what no other President in America's history has ever been asked to do: Show the entire public his birth certificate.

The Republican response?

"What took him so long?" said former Speaker of U.S. House of Representatives Newt Gingrich.

"He should have done it a long time ago," said Donald Trump, who led the most recent campaign against Obama's legitimacy as an American citizen. "I am really proud that I have played such a big role in hopefully getting rid of this issue."

We asked a few Bed-Stuy residents how they felt about the birther issue. Were the calls for Barack Obama to show his birth certificate an unfair assault on his presidency? Or was it a legitimate issue the president should have resolved a long time ago? Furthermore, if Barack Obama were a white president, would he have been forced to prove he was a "real American?"

Jessica Delvache, 24: "Something as insignificant as a birth certificate, compared to whatever else is going on in the world? Like, is it really necessary? But I think he had to show it, just to pretty much shut people up. But he is who he is, regardless."

Jazz Means: "I feel that the attacks against him were racism. This country used to be a blatant racist nation, but now the racism is covered in the guise of politics and religion and the ideas of sin. I’ve never heard them say the types of things they said about Obama when other presidents ran. The man is president. He was able to run for office. If he had not been a legal citizen, he wouldn't have been able to get into the position, especially having Ted Kennedy as his mentor."

David Mercado, 19: "He should have shown his birth certificate a long time ago, because it would have made people realize who he really is. I don’t know why he waited so long." (Mercado admitted that with all of the media controversy, he also wondered whether Obama was actually born in the United States)

Chafin Elliott, 81: "I don’t blame him at all for not wanting to show his birth certificate. If you can’t vet someone who may be the president of the United States, yet you let the man get to the presidency, that’s pretty stupid. That doesn’t say a lot for the country."

Linda Joe Allen, 53: "It’s racism, plain and simple. But he should have taken care of it up-front and got it out of the way."

Kayla Cohen, 27: "I guess he had to release it. I guess he couldn’t just never release it, after people kept bringing up the issue of it. But I think it’s silly that he ever had to. I don’t even know if the people who brought it up really believe he wasn’t a citizen. I think it was just to stir up trouble."

Nicole Miller: "All I want to say is, you’ve got Homeland Security checking airplanes, you’ve got these police surveillance cameras all over the city. Now you’ve got a president of the United States that’s been elected, and you want to pretend like you don't know whether he's an American? This whole thing is ridiculous. How did he even get past Human Resources without a birth certificate and two copies of his I.D.? That’s basic stuff you need to get a regular job, and he’s the president of the United States. This is nothing but racism. So you’re telling me, we done elected somebody that doesn’t have a birth certificate? So then, who’s fault is that, and why bring it up now?"

"Normally, I wouldn't comment on something like this, because I have other things to do," said President Barack Obama in a White House press conference on Wednesday. "But during the entire week [after I presented my budget], the dominant issue was about my birth certificate.

"We do not have time for this kind of silliness. We've got better stuff to do; I've got better stuff to do. We've got big problems to solve. But we're going to have to focus on them. Not on this."