Watch Clinton: Birthers are 'Ludicrous'

ABC News reports:

Continuing outcry by "birthers" -- a small but vocal movement which questions whether President Barack Obama was actually born on U.S. soil -- could possibly end up hurting the Republican party, former President Bill Clinton said in an exclusive interview with ABC News.

A recent poll indicates that 51 percent of Republicans who will vote in the 2012 presidential elections don't believe Obama was born in the United States. Obama -- who is expected to announce his re-election campaign today -- so far has done little to fight back against the erroneous claims, but Clinton thinks that will change.

"I think he will fight back," the former president said, "but I think one of the elementary rules of combat is you don't want to get in your opponent's way if he's shooting himself in the foot ...."

He pointed out that "a very different America" tended to show up to a presidential election than to a Congressional one.

"The economy will be better," he said, speaking of the next presidential election. "If I were them, I'd be really careful riding that birther horse too much. Everyone knows it's ludicrous."