NOW with Alex Wagner   |  September 17, 2012

What NOW?!: Why some anti- Obama ads aren’t a joking matter

Sunday’s New York Post featured a full page ad that claims President Barack Obama’s father is actually labor activist Frank Marshall Davis and it served as a promotion for the DVD, “Dreams from my Real Father.” The ad was also released one day before a new anti-Obama documentary hit number five on the list of highest grossing documentaries of all time. The NOW w/ Alex Wagner panel discusses.

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This content comes from Closed Captioning that was broadcast along with this program.

>>> welcome back. time for what now, sunday's "new york post" featured this ad that claims president obama 's father is actually labor activist frank marshall davis , a promotion for dreams for my real father, wan run day before the obama 's documentary 2016 obama 's america, hit number 15 . dreams from my real father is coming out as a dvd. there is no shortage of an appetite for othering the president and highly racialized theories.

>> this has been a theme long before he ever you no took the seat inside the white house . you have to think to yourself he's done such an amazing job showing how this does not affect him.

>> the birth certificate joke we showed going into the break.

>> that's right. but i think there's -- the real long-term consequences of this as well. here are the long-term consequences, we are going to have a lot of good, qualified, smart people who should be going into public office who should be trying to get themselves elected into positions where they can have influence over the lives of other people who will say if this is how you're going to treat someone who has the life story of president obama , who can be doing anything else he chooses to and chose to be a public servant and this is how he is treated a lot of people will think twice about going along those routes. both short and long-term consequences to this nonsense that comes out.

>> vili fiing public officials and public service in general doesn't make anyone seager to run for office. worth noting that "fahrenheit 9/11" is number one, march of the penguins two, justin bieber never say never is three and some part of the $73 million was you going, that was all you. i'm going to give heather mcghee credit for number four, obama 's america at $35 million. never say never. thank you to my panel. eric, wes, that is all for