Ken Bennett, Arizona's secretary of state, is the latest person to question the President's birthplace, although he's doing it the way people do when they want to call it into question but don't want to seem like a loon. Bennett, a Republican who perhaps coincidentally is planning to run for governor in 2014, said on a radio show last week that he's looking into the issue, and that it's "possible" he might keep Obama off the Arizona ballot in 2012, not because he thinks the President isn't a "natural-born citizen" but because some other people say they think that and so he's gotta look into it.

"I'm not a birther," Bennett said on the show. "I believe the president was born in Hawaii." Oh, well, that seems pretty cl— "Or at least I hope he was." Ah. I see. But despite his own belief and/or hope, Bennett continued, "my responsibility as secretary of state is to make sure the ballots in Arizona are correct and that those people whose names are on the ballot have met the qualifications for the office they are seeking." He said he had received 1200 emails asking him to look into the matter.

It's good to know, I guess, that 1200 emails will cause an official to spring into action, but what about the potential for abuse? I'm pretty sure there are more than 1200 Scientologists, for example, so will Ken Bennett one day have to look into whether human beings were brought to Earth 75 million years ago by an alien who stacked them around a volcano he then blew up with an H-bomb? Couldn't hurt to ask.

In the meantime, though, he's just waiting (apart from his other secretarial duties) for Hawaii officials to provide verification. He said on the show that he was puzzled it took them eight weeks to respond to his request, and when they did respond they still didn't give him what he wanted.

Instead, they asked him to prove who he was:

On Thursday, Bennett said he sent his request to Hawaii officials eight weeks ago but has yet to get the proof he was hoping for…. In the weeks since then, Bennett said, Hawaii officials have forced him to provide proof that he is who he says he is. They asked him to send them copies of the Arizona laws that prove the secretary of state really is the person in charge of handling the ballots. Admittedly, Bennett said they told him they were "tired of all the requests." But he is continuing anyway.

Emphasis added. Sounds like they are fed up with being bothered about this and have decided to start turning the tables. Bennett said he sent them copies of the state laws in question but still hasn't heard anything.

Strangely, he didn't say anything about sending them proof he is really "Ken Bennett" and that he's the same "Ken Bennett" who is Arizona's secretary of state. I mean, I believe that he is. Or at least I hope he is. I'm just saying that some people would like to see the evidence, that's all.