The following is a statement obtained by Media Matters for America from NAACP president and chief executive Benjamin Jealous:

“It is outrageous that while Americans of all races, genders and ethnicities throughout our country are focused on addressing the challenges our nation is besieged with, such as unemployment, healthcare reform, the home ownership crisis, education, and warMr.. Dobbs cannot get past his extremist fixation with President Obama's citizenship. We have all seen President Obama's birth certificate on the internet. He was born in Hawaii to his U.S. mother, a U.S. citizen born in Kansas. This makes him a citizen that, along with being over 35 years of age, makes him legally eligible to be elected the President of the United States. Any ethical journalist would not spread unfounded and clearly mendacious rumors that fan the flames of racial hatred and division. We urge Mr. Dobbs to adhere to journalistic standards and assure that the stories he perpetuates are based in fact. We ask Mr. Dobbs to focus on the crucial social and economic issues that affect so many Americans and are truly worthy of CNN's air time, rather than the tabloid journalism he seems to have embraced.”