Hawaii governor remembers Obama's birth

HONOLULU, April 26 (UPI) -- The evidence that a U.S. future president, Barack Hussein Obama, was born in a Honolulu hospital in 1961 is overwhelming, CNN reported Tuesday.

In addition to Obama's birth certificate and birth announcements in both Honolulu newspapers, there is testimony from Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie. In 1961, Abercrombie was a graduate student at the University of Hawaii where he was friends with Ann Dunham and her husband, Barack Obama Sr., and celebrated the birth of their son with them.

"Of course, we had no idea at the time that the future president of the United States was that little boy, that little baby," Abercrombie told CNN.

Recent polls show 75 percent of the U.S. public believes Obama was born in Hawaii. But four out of 10 who identify themselves as Republican say they have doubts.

The most popular belief is that Obama was born in Kenya, his father's country, which would make him unable to serve as president. Some doubters suggest Obama is hiding his birth certificate because it would show he is a Muslim.

Hawaiian officials say there is simply no question about his birthplace and that birth certificates from 1961 do not show religion.

Dan Nakaso, a veteran Honolulu reporter, said the birth announcements could not have been faked. At that time, he said, the newspapers got their information from the state Department of Health, not from parents.