After resurrecting the long-dormant “Birther” conspiracy about President Obama’s birth certificate in an interview with Parade Magazine, Texas Gov. Rick Perry doubled and tripled-down on the issue this week. Now, though, The St. Petersburg Times is reporting that Perry now says he has “no doubt” that President Obama was born in the United States, and that he was “kidding around” when he raised the issue several times this week. Has his flirtation with the Birthers, and Donald Trump, rendered his candidacy a joke?

The biggest problem with yesterday’s revelation that Texas Gov. Rick Perry has reopened the President’s birth certificate as a campaign issue was the fact that there was no audio or video of Perry’s interview with Parade Magazine. Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough remedied that situation, somewhat, this morning, when he drafted Willie Geist and Mark Halperin into a dramatic reenactment of the beleaguered former frontrunner’s absurd interview, in which he expresses doubt about the President’s birthplace.

Just when you thought it was safe to take Orly Taitz off of your producer’s speed-dial, Texas Gov. and struggling Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry throws a “Birther” Hail Orly in a Parade Magazine interview. Months after President Obama crushed then-GOP frontrunner Donald Trump by producing his long-form birth certificate and Osama bin Laden‘s long-form corpse, Perry told Parade that he had no idea if the document was real, and that he hopes to secure The Donald’s endorsement.

MSNBC’s morning man Joe Scarborough tells PARADE magazine that he may not be done with politics–not covering them on Morning Joe, that is, but serving in Congress.
Scarborough, who was elected to Congress from Florida–and was suspended by MSNBC for supporting candidates in the Sunshine State–said he’s thought about running again. “I think I may at some point.”

Example number 214 of why we love Morning Joe: Willie Geist reported on this morning’s program of Miley Cyrus slamming co-host Mika Brzezinski‘s condemnation of the teen-starlet’s “pole dance” last summer. Not only was Joe Scarborough sitting back and watching Mika’s stunned reaction in amusement, but so too was Mika’s father Zbigniew Brzezinski, the former cabinet member under President Carter. Good times! Video after the jump.

Say what you want about Bill O’Reilly, but he never shies away from surprising people. Take this weekend’s Parade magazine, in which the Fox News host writes a lengthy column headlined, “What President Obama Can Teach America’s Kids” (first reported by Politico). Here’s a sneak peek: