As if John McCain's alleged affair with a lobbyist weren't enough, it turns out the man may or many not be even eligible to be President. Why? Well, he was born on an overseas military base, that's why. Remember that Constitution thing that the Bushies have been telling you to ignore? Well, turns out that Article II, section 1, clause 4 says "No Person except a natural born citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of the Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President...." You also have to be 35 and have been a resident of the U.S. for 14 years.
Admittedly, this is a really, really obscure legal issue, but it's one that hasn't been resolved yet. McCain is actually a bit concerned about this, and has retained some very expensive counsel to help him sort this out.
But, it opens up an interesting question for discussion. What do you think the qualifications for the Office of President ought to be?
Thursday, February 28, 2008
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5 comments:
In this case I think it isn't going to be an issue because it says to all of our military or embassy families stationed overseas that if they have children there, they don't deserve the full rights of US born citizens. I guess technically, one could argue that a US Base or Embassy is sovereign US territory and thus ignore the legal issues.
I read the article on this by the New York Times. It isn't the first time something like this has happened with someone running for President. If it really were to become a big issue I can't see the Supreme Court ruling against McCain. Funny, In the Times article, early on in our history, Congress realized how this might be an issue and passed a law ensuring that children born to citizens serving our country overseas would have full rights as citizens. They omitted the natural-born wording though, because technically, they weren't born here.
I think maybe an amendment or law needs to be passed, better interpreting this. The intent was so that a foreigner could not become our head of state. Unless McCain wins, I don't see this being addressed tho, sorry Governator but you will always be out of luck.
Oh, my favorite comment on this all day. Taken off the thread over at Wonkette.com. Not mine, though I wish I had thought of it first...
"Since the Bush Administration has argued for several years that "Gitmo" in Cuba isn't part of the US - and US laws don't apply there - clearly Sen. McCain can not be president..."
LMFAO
This is interesting, and could end up screwing up Bush in the end with Gitmo. If the courts determine that overseas bases ARE US land, then so is Gitmo and the law applies there. If not, then no McCain as well as every child born overseas is not a "natural born citizen".
Going to be interesting, the court is stuck between a rock and a hard place
did anyone else read the article and notice that Vermonts own, President Chester A. Arthur was probably, shhhhh....born in Canada. How will Dews respond to that fraud of history committed by a "Vermonter"?
No, Dews has always asserted that Canada belonged to Vermont...or vice versa, I forget which
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