"I also think it’s true that birtherism is a symbolic issue. The belief that Obama was not born in the United States is symbolic of a gut-level feeling that Obama is somehow an illegitimate American, that his politics are illegitimate, that he’s trying to turn the United States into something that is not American, that he’s against capitalism, that he’s against Christianity, that he hates whites. Some people have swallowed all these points of view. Birtherism is a short-hand for saying, “He’s not a real American”."

— Jonathan Kay

(Source: salon.com)