You have to say this about Tavis Smiley: the guy is one great harrumpher. There he was this past Sunday, on a CBS morning news show, harrumphing about how the “birthers” showed a lack of civility when they repeatedly questioned whether President Obama is a native-born American.

Smiley harrumphed less than a week after Obama released the long form of his birth certificate. Ever since he’s been president, there has been a dedicated, hard-core cadre of people who were convinced that Obama was born not in Hawaii, but somewhere outside the United States.