Kevin Drum of Mother Jones says

Should Barack Obama respond to the “birther” lunatics by asking the Hawaii Department of Health to produce his original birth certificate? Should Sarah Palin be required to produce original medical records proving she’s really Trig Palin’s mother? Conor Friedersdorf says no. Elected officials may have less right to privacy than ordinary citizens, but there are limits:

As evident is that public officials are under no “transparency” obligation to address all questions. Were the right fringe to allege that Barack Obama is in fact a woman, and demand a photograph of his penis to definitively prove otherwise, and the left fringe retaliated by alleging that Sarah Palin is a man, and requested the same sort of photographic proof, Andrew [Sullivan] would surely join me in concluding that both politicians havesome right to privacy. Right?

He said it here.

My only comment at this point would be “the gods often grant in earnest what we ask for only in jest.”

Based on recent birther, 9/11, and ‘winger healthcare gyrations there’s no reason to suppose some ‘winger on the House floor, or talk radio, or maybe over at the Corner won’t bring it up before Labor Day.

It would of course be perfectly fine, and maybe even laudable if public figures choose to post their own half-Nekkid photos. But one imagines any Birther requests would be just one more attempt to use nudity to humiliate rather than illuminate. Or even titillate.

(Signature: composed on a hand-held — pardon any typos.)