McCain not eligible to be president? (Updated)

16 Responses to “McCain not eligible to be president? (Updated)”

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1. Jenn Sierra on February 9th, 2008 9:25 pm
   

   That’s very interesting…I had always heard and believed that children born on military bases overseas automatically had dual citizenship.
2. Orlando on February 9th, 2008 9:34 pm
   

   It is a technicality that could be used against McCain. There are other vague statements such as this one cited in the source above:

   Jus sanguinis (the law of the bloodline ), a concept of Roman or civil law under which a person’s citizenship is determined by the citizenship of one or both parents. This rule, frequently called “citizenship by descent” or “derivative citizenship”, is not embodied in the U.S. Constitution, but such citizenship is granted through statute. As laws have changed, the requirements for conferring and retaining derivative citizenship have also changed.

   Because McCain was born to U.S. citizen parents, most states allow the child to be considered a U.S. citizen. However, it is implied that people like McCain would be citizens but the Constitution does not state that. Could McCain be ineligible for President? Technically… yes!
3. Bryan in Austin on February 10th, 2008 2:18 pm
   

   How do we get him out of the race then?
4. Vicente Gambito on February 22nd, 2008 7:37 pm
   

   You should work hard to disqualify him, otherwise some 2 million Territorial Filipinos can also claim to have the same status of McCain at the time of their births. That would be a catastrophy!

   See http://territorialfilipino.wetpaint.com/
5. Vicente Gambito on February 23rd, 2008 3:40 pm
   

   Errata: ‘catastrophe’ instead of ‘catastrophy’
6. Amanda on February 28th, 2008 6:16 am
   

   If it would help Huckabee, I am for it.
7. Patrick on February 28th, 2008 10:25 am
   

   The Constitution clearly states “natural born citizen”. If you were a citizen at birth, then you qualify. McCain was born to American parents, who filed a birth certificate with the American Consulate registering him as a citizen. Therefore he was a citizen at birth (natural born citizen) and is qualified. What’s so hard about that?
8. Ken Bingham on February 28th, 2008 6:56 pm
   

   Thanks for the mention and the link. It’s interesting how the New York Times endorsed McCain and now they are trying to bring him down.
9. Peebs on February 28th, 2008 10:44 pm
   

   McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone.

   The Panama Canal Zone was a U.S. Territory from 1903 to 1979 so, any person born there was automatically considered a U.S. citizen.

   But its good for a laugh
10. Peebs on February 28th, 2008 10:45 pm
    

    Ken….. the NYT isnt trying to bring him down; they dont need to.

    If you are referring to the story about boning a lobbyist, McCains campaign WANTED that story run.
11. Jason on February 28th, 2008 10:55 pm
    

    My daughter was born in Germany on the local economy while I was stationed there with the Army. She was given American Citizenship at birth.
12. Andy Gutierrez on February 29th, 2008 12:08 am
    

    Read U.S. Supreme Court cases going back to 1800s. This is not a slam dunk issue. The U.S. Constitution says that only “natural born citizens” are eligible to be President. Does that include foreign born children of U.S. citizens? Apparently, the U.S. Congress in 1790 did not think so; they enacted that year a law to confer citizenship status to such children. When our Constitution was written we did not have any foreign military bases or embassies. We had just won a war with England to claim the 13 colonies. There is a very good argument that the Constitution, when written, did not conceive of a need to confer any form of citizenship status on foreign born (even to US citizens). A mere act of Congress does not change the U.S. Constitution. People seem to think that because Congress eventually gave citizenship status to certain foreign born persons, that McCain has nothing to worry about. They forget that Congress has no power to change the meaning of the U.S. Constitution. It takes a Constitutional Amendment. I agree that it would be a travesty for McCain not to be eligible. However, it was a travesty that Blacks were not treated as full persons and that women could not vote. The U.S. Supreme Court could not save the day because it was constrained by the Constitution. It took the 14th, 15th and 22nd Amendment to right those wrongs. Will it take a similar amendment to allow foreign born persons of US citizens to be U.S. President? (It is noteworthy that even the U.S. State Department acknowledges that children born to US diplomats abroad and at foreign US military bases are not considered natural born U.S. citizens; they are considered citizens at birth, not citizens due to place of birth. Place of birth, rightly or wrongly, as always mattered to the U.S. Supreme Court and Congress.)
13. Brian Allen on March 4th, 2008 2:36 am
    

    Regardless, all of us as critics or pundits… The Constitution is clear that an individual to be eligible must be born in the United States of America.

    The United States Supreme Court has ruled numerous times in the past Century that nothing within the written meaning of the Constitution can be abrogated, nullified or changed even by Act of Congress.

    In other words a Constitutional Amendment is required to determine who, what if and when, in a nutshell!

    Senator McCain duly educated at the highest levels that our nation could offer is aware of the Constitutional Provision and the requirement thereunder.

    The “United States State Department” requires children born to United States Citizens to be registered in the Country of Birth within X number of days. Failure to register nullifies that infants chances of being granted legitimate citizenship, within the context of the law.

    We believe any individual seeking the highest office in our nation is fully cognizant of the requirements. The Senator should therefore seek his day in court (assuming he has legal grounds and standing) prior to a fiasco in the upcoming federal election.

    Hillary should she become the Democratic Candidate with her illustrious law degree will not let this go by the sideline. Especially after the legal battles she and the former President of the United States encountered.

    We are perplexed that neither Huckabee, Romney or any other past candidate has taken notice of the term “Natural Born” which still has not changed its meaning since the 1700’s!! Right On Mr. Gutierrez “Orderle”

    Brian Allen on March 04th, 2008
14. MAR on March 6th, 2008 12:59 am
    

    If McCain won and lost a supreme court case, would the republican vice-president elect be next in line or the Democrat who presumabley would have the next most delegates or would the House of Representatives decide and would it vary with the numer of electors the Democrat had, and would the answer vary if the unfavorable ruling came just before or just after certain key dates in the election cycle, electors voting, counting, inauguration, etc.
15. Elaine McKillop, Esq. on April 11th, 2008 11:44 am
    

    As an attorney I have researched the issue and it is my opinion that John McCain is not a “natural born citizen” under the Constitution. First of all, the Founding Fathers were against a standing army, let alone a navy that was stationed on foreign soil. They would have had no sympathy that McCain the son and the grandson of an Admiral can not run for president. They were non interventionist and would not have approved of military personnel being stationed abroad. The fact that McCain will not release his birth certificate is even more alarming. He would only conceal it if he had something to hide. I bet that he was born in a hospital in Panama that was not part of the military base. The military hospital was built after his birth. Either way he is not a “natural born citizen” and in my opinion it is no loss for the American people if he does not run since all three CFR candidates stand for the same erosions to liberty. Isn’t it benevolent that Hillary and Obama sponsored a Bill that endorses the citizenship of McCain? Why don’t these candidates read the Constitution? It would take a Constitutional Amendment to make McCain eligible. Why are these three our only choices for president when they are oblivious to the supreme law of the land?
16. John Engineer/MBA/bussines risk on July 10th, 2008 7:17 am
    

    McCain is not natural born and Elaine is correct. The press will not report real issues like Isman and the media cross ownership issues. You have billions going to Murdock and a small media cartel. The stock market fell 200 points yesterday and the press covers a little girl crime that happened 12 years ago. McCain was part of the Keating 5 which cost America 1.4T dollars. He did nothing on warning on the current housing crisis. Now we have a company trying to buy BUD and congress stops it.. gee I wonder why? Cindy McCain, Jesse Jackson’s son both have distributorship’s? We need less govenment not more we might start with McCain/Bush military industrial complex and then then the FED.

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