This story was bluhEDITit.

On the topic of this actual story, I don't think a system like this can ever truly work. Language is complex (how could it possibly detect sarcasm or satire) and thoughtful, nuanced positions can have a lot of shades of gray. I suppose it might be able to pick up simple, far left or far right positions, but how interesting is that, usually? That's not to say that the effort and research are not interesting and it might lead to useful stuff. But as presented here, I think it will always be just short of useless, at best.

@ Ronald Sigrist - I don't have any use for these "birthers", but your link doesn't show whatg you say it does at all. It just shows a statement from an Hawaiian official saying he has seen the birth certificate, etc. How could you post something like that and not know it was not the original birth certificate? That is just ridiculous.

Here is the most complete link I could find

http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/born_in_the_usa.html

but see my postings under the lead story to see why NONE OF THIS MATTERS as far as Obama still being a natural born citizen and fully eligible to be President of the USA. I am not even particularly a supporter of his (nor a rabid detractor) and I have no use for this moronic argument about his birth. People just get more stupid all the time.

How accurate can an automatic system be at determining the stance of what you're reading?

The birth certificate can be found at Factcheck.org. Why can't everyone find this information by a quick google search and stop asking this question?

http://www.factcheck.org/2009/07/the-last-word-we-wish/

OK so I am a skeptical professional Congressional journalist, so I picked up your first premise on the first two stories today: I want to see on the internet the birth certificate of Pres. Obama that you alluded has been all over the net. "Of course he showed it years ago" you said. But I can't find it!!!!???? Went to DisputeFinder -- NOTHING!!!??? do it yourself! Write in "ObAMA'S BIRTH CERTIFICATE MISSING OBAMA BIRTH CERTIFICATE and other wordings. I tried several and there not only are no articles about the dispute on that site,and no copy of the birth certificate, but the site links to things that have abslutely no connection to the question. Guess the site needs more work.

SO WHERE CAN I SEE FOR MYSELF HIS BIRTH CERTIFICATE? Now I'm curious. Where is it? Can you link me to it? (btw: a birth announcement - from an unnamed source; was it the hospital? the county records dept? a paid announcement by the parents? - in an old newspaper; or a letter from a governor saying someone is a citizen or born in the state, would not be accepted for a passport or social security as a birth certificate in any governent agency as far as I know. So why are journalists waving these bits around as "the birth certificate?" Does anyone know in which hospital he was born? or was he born at home? now I'm really curious. aren't you? Lawyer friends of mine (African Americans by the way) say they think that Hawaii might have labeled Obama's mother a 'negroe' on the birth certificate, as some counties in the South used to do for a woman having a child from a black, so that may be the reason no one wants to show the real birth certificate. Or maybe his parents weren't married?? big deal. isn't it time to just show it and get on with our lives!