Bloomberg: GOP Focus on Obama Birth a Mistake

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg says it is a “terrible mistake” for Republicans to place so much focus on President Barack Obama’s birth certificate when numerous critical problems face the nation and the issue goes way beyond just Donald Trump. Bloomberg also said on “Fox News Sunday” that continued concentration on the topic could cost the GOP the election in 2012.

“The president was born here — this birther issue is more than one person — there are a lot of groups that have glommed onto this,” Bloomberg, an independent, said. “I think the Republicans are making a terrible mistake in making this a big issue — we have immigration, we have the deficit, we have the economy. Those are things that the public cares about. My girlfriend always says: ‘It’s all about housing and jobs — my house, my job’ — that’s what the public cares about.

“And if the Republican Party doesn’t start addressing that, they will lose — and they deserve to,” he continued. “Here’s an opportunity to have both parties, and the president, to take a look and say: ‘Look guys, we’ve been sitting around, we’ve been talking back-and-forth, we’ve been fighting — it’s good theater, but the country can no longer afford this.’ The American public is smart enough to say: ‘Let’s focus on the main issues.’”