Was Barack Obama really born in America?

A new CNN investigation reveals what most analysts have been saying since the “birther” controversy erupted during the 2008 presidential campaign: Obama was born in Hawaii on August 4, 1961. Period.

While the president has made light of the controversy, the question remains political red meat for some of his critics. A recent CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll showed that nearly 75% of Americans believe Obama was definitely or probably born in the United States. More than four in 10 Republicans, however, believe he probably or definitely was not born in America.

The U.S. Constitution says only “natural born” citizens can become president — a vague clause that some members of the birther movement contend disqualifies Obama because, they insist, he was born outside the United States.

Skeptics contend, among other things, that Obama was born in his father’s home country of Kenya. Potential GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump recently seized on the issue, saying he had doubts about Obama’s background.