Gary Busey isn’t the only one on the television show “Apprentice” who has completely lost his mind.

In his continual quest to extend his 15 minutes of fame by a few seconds, Donald Trump — who is pushing for the Republican nomination for president in 2012 — has questioned the authenticity of President Barack Obama’s birth certificate.

This is not the first time a president has had the authenticity of his birth certificate questioned. New York attorney Arthur P. Hinman questioned the validity of Republican President Chester A. Arthur’s birthplace in 1880, claiming Arthur was born in Ireland. When the story failed to take root, Hinman then tried to claim Arthur was from Canada.

History has a funny way of repeating itself.

New York mogul Trump, buoyed by a quest to cover the White House with cheap gold plating and exposed brick, is leading the unwashed, tin-foil hat-wearing shut-ins of society who believe our current commander-in-chief wasn’t born here.

Then again, it’s easy to convince a group that would trip over itself if it could find a way to nominate the most visible Republican, Austrian-born Arnold Schwarzenegger, aka the Terminator, to the highest office in the land.

There is an old saying that you should not throw stones at glass houses.

Let’s look at the facts.

Trump hasn’t voted in any election since 1989 according to NY1.com, and has a history of failures that can be uncovered in numerous places online.

Media reports show Trump has neglected to meet loan payments, at one point had a $900 million debt, filed for bankruptcy and, in the ’80s, helped send the United States Football League circling down the drain due to his rampant mismanagement.

I could go on and on. However, there is not enough space in this 12-page newspaper to list or mention all the ways Donald Trump has screwed up in life.

While I applaud President Obama for finally putting to rest all the inane controversy by showing the world his birth certificate, he should not have given in to all the racists, anti-Semites, and hatemongers, and certainly not to a failure like Donald Trump.

—Joey Stipek

Editor