Donald Trump is a birther, but still considers himself "very smart"

I never thought I'd say this, but I wish Donald Trump would spend more time making The Apprentice and building ugly buildings, because this whole Presidential bid is getting very tiresome. Yesterday, I guess in order to establish some Republican cred, he suggested that Barack Obama was not actually born in America. 

I guess that's officially what you have to do to be taken seriously as a Republican these days. After voicing the usual doubts, he had the following to say:

Everybody that even gives a hint of being a birther… even a little bit of a hint, like, gee, you know, maybe, just maybe this much of a chance, they label them as an idiot. Let me tell you, I'm a really smart guy. 

I kind of believe him. I mean, he is probably on the smart end of the spectrum. But that's probably why he should avoid stating clear factual inaccuracies (which are so alarmist and conspiratorial that they make level-headed folks like Karl Rove nervous). His apparent cause for concern is that nobody remembers Barack Obama from his childhood. For no particular reason, I've included a picture of Barack Obama with his kindergarten class.  

Trump's political posturing is annoying, however, even when it's not offensive. Earlier this week, his Comedy Central roast (which had its funny moments, including some deaf-woman humor and a squirmingly terrible bomb by The Situation), came crashing to a halt when Trump hopped up at the end to remind us all that he might be forming an exploratory committee to consider running for President, or whatever the fuck.