Birthers Still Believe

(updated 3:05 PM PDT)

Previous posts have dealt with "birthers," who deny that President Obama was born in the United States and thus believe that he is constitutionally ineligible to be president. The State reports:

Even after Obama released a detailed, long-form birth certificate that shows he was born in the United States and repeatedly said he is a Christian, a Winthrop poll released Monday found 36 percent of S.C. Republicans and Republican leaners think the president was “probably” or “definitely” born outside of the U.S., making him ineligible to serve as the country’s chief executive.

Another 30 percent say Obama is a Muslim.

Scott Huffmon, a political scientist at Winthrop University and the director of its poll, called the anti-Obama views a sign of the “kick-a-puppy syndrome,” which holds that someone you strongly dislike is capable of all manner of meanness and mendacity.

“Do you really believe that person has kicked a puppy?” Huffmon asked as a hypothetical question to someone who strongly dislikes another person.

“Sure,” Huffmon said the person would say. “I bet he has kicked a puppy.”"

The study is here.