GOP Rep: At Heart, Obama's 'Not an American'

Rep. Mike Coffman of Colorado is already backpedaling furiously after being caught on tape bringing up President Obama's citizenship and questioning his patriotism. "I don't know whether Barack Obama was born in the United States of America. I don't know that," Coffman said at a fundraiser last week, according to NBC 9 News. "But I do know this, that in his heart, he's not an American. He's just not an American."

The statement was met with "deafening silence," recalls a Republican county chairman who was present, followed by tentative applause. Audio of the statements was later posted online by a Coffman supporter. "I'm glad the congressman said it. Not enough have. More should," the supporter says. But Coffman issued an apology last night. "I misspoke," he said. "I have confidence in President Obama's citizenship." But, he added, "I don't believe the president shares my belief in American exceptionalism." (More Barack Obama stories.)