If McCain was not born in the US, can he still be President?
May 20, 2008 · By Greg Farries
Of course this question will not likely be officially answered unless John McCain actually wins next November, but it is an interesting legal question nonetheless:
Article II of the constitution states: “No person except a natural born citizen … shall be eligible to the Office of President.”
The framers of the constitution didn’t define “natural born citizen.” The phrase was added without any clarifying debate. The Supreme Court has never been asked to definitively settle the issue. And so we are left with a phrase just ambiguous enough to cause controversy.
Well, hopefully WBush will stack the courts in McCain’s favor.
Oh, wait!
By the way, any precedent that will allow Arnie to make it to the top is fine by me!
McCain was supposedly born on a US military base, so that would be considered part of American territory. I don’t think this is a problem for him.
I guess babies born at Gitmo don’t count as being born on US soil.
As I read it, the Constitution is quite clear on this. You must be a “natural born” citizen to be elected President.
Let’s take the plain English meaning here. Was McCain a citizen of the US by birthright? Yes, regardless of where he was born physically, by having 2 USC parents, he was a US Citizen the moment he was born.
I would find it HIGHLY unlikely for any court to overturn an election result for such an office on such a flimsy basis as this.
From the (vice then appointed 1881) President Chester A. Arthur wikipedia entry:
“he was a natural-born citizen by virtue of his parents’ citizenship, thus making him constitutionally eligible to serve as vice president or president. Some of his opponents circulated the Canada [birth] rumor during the 1880 election, but they could not prove it, and no proof has emerged since.”