Would we be asking about the birth certificate if his name was Barry Dunham?

I agree with the premise of this column to some extent.

"This shameful episode has little to do with reality and everything to do with the strangeness of Obama’s background — especially his race. Many Republicans refuse to accept that Obama could come from such an exotic stew and still be “American.” They have to delegitimize him. So, even though the certificate of live birth first made public in 2008 is a legal document that any court would have to recognize, they demanded more.

No American president has ever been so humiliated, and those who think it has nothing to do with race are deluding themselves."

Odd sounding names aren't really questioned with someone like Reince Priebus but even that may have more to do with the combination of his political affiliation and race than just his race or name alone. If former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm ran for president, only a few would initially question it even though she was born in Canada (Vancouver, British Columbia specifically).

The same column even made a similar statement about our 35th President:

“At least one president, John F. Kennedy, came from bootlegging Irish heritage. It was always a side issue, the mist of his father’s past, though nobody ever forced Jack Kennedy to prove he wasn’t a criminal. He looked like most Americans, and that was enough.”

Perhaps the same could be said for a ‘Barry Dunham’? I get asked repeatedly how old I was when I came to this country, only to surprise people with the fact that I was born in Brooklyn, New York and my parents gave a traditional name because they were proud of their heritage.

If Barack Obama was known as Barry Dunham, a guy from Hawai'i that used his mother's maiden name and childhood nickname because he barely knew his own father, would we be having the same birther discussion?

If I ran for President of the United States one day, would I get asked this question repeatedly? I'm not so sure I wouldn't. Of course, I'm not planning to run for President anytime soon but if I do one day, I did get a copy of my birth certificate.