http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/...-misidentified-birthplace-1991-214423507.html
âBorn in Kenyaâ: Obamaâs literary agent misidentified his birthplace in 1991
A possible source of the so-called "birther" issue--or at least a potential cause of the rumors that have dogged President Barack Obama--has been identified.
Obama's former literary agency misidentified his birthplace as Kenya while trying to promote the then-Harvard Law grad as an author in 1991.
According to a promotional booklet produced by the agency, Acton & Dystel, to showcase its roster of writers, Obama was "born in Kenya and raised in Indonesia and Hawaii."
Miriam Goderich edited the text of the bio; she is now a partner at the Dystel & Goderich agency, which lists Obama as one of its current clients.
"This was nothing more than a fact checking error by me--an agency assistant at the time," Goderich wrote in an emailed statement to Yahoo News. "There was never any information given to us by Obama in any of his correspondence or other communications suggesting in any way that he was born in Kenya and not Hawaii. I hope you can communicate to your readers that this was a simple mistake and nothing more."
A copy of the booklet was published on Breitbart.com, under the headline: "Obama's Literary Agent in 1991 Booklet: 'Born in Kenya and raised in Indonesia and Hawaii'"--part of the "vetting" of the president the site's late founder, Andrew Breitbart, had promised.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Breitbart.com published a lengthy disclaimer with the brochure, saying it does not believe Obama was born outside of the United States
Despite that rationale, the publication will no doubt fuel "birthers" who refuse to believe Obama was born in the United States.
In a follow-up post, Breitbart.com noted that Obama was listed as being born in Kenya on the Dyster & Goderich website until April 2007, "just two months after then-Senator Obama declared his campaign for the presidency."
âBorn in Kenyaâ: Obamaâs literary agent misidentified his birthplace in 1991
A possible source of the so-called "birther" issue--or at least a potential cause of the rumors that have dogged President Barack Obama--has been identified.
Obama's former literary agency misidentified his birthplace as Kenya while trying to promote the then-Harvard Law grad as an author in 1991.
According to a promotional booklet produced by the agency, Acton & Dystel, to showcase its roster of writers, Obama was "born in Kenya and raised in Indonesia and Hawaii."
Miriam Goderich edited the text of the bio; she is now a partner at the Dystel & Goderich agency, which lists Obama as one of its current clients.
"This was nothing more than a fact checking error by me--an agency assistant at the time," Goderich wrote in an emailed statement to Yahoo News. "There was never any information given to us by Obama in any of his correspondence or other communications suggesting in any way that he was born in Kenya and not Hawaii. I hope you can communicate to your readers that this was a simple mistake and nothing more."
A copy of the booklet was published on Breitbart.com, under the headline: "Obama's Literary Agent in 1991 Booklet: 'Born in Kenya and raised in Indonesia and Hawaii'"--part of the "vetting" of the president the site's late founder, Andrew Breitbart, had promised.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Breitbart.com published a lengthy disclaimer with the brochure, saying it does not believe Obama was born outside of the United States
Despite that rationale, the publication will no doubt fuel "birthers" who refuse to believe Obama was born in the United States.
In a follow-up post, Breitbart.com noted that Obama was listed as being born in Kenya on the Dyster & Goderich website until April 2007, "just two months after then-Senator Obama declared his campaign for the presidency."
