McCain Eligible?

[W. Gray]

Only a person born in the United States of America can be President of the United States. [That made George Washington ineligible but that is another story].

There appears to be someone questioning whether John McCain is eligible.

McCain was born in the Canal Zone of Panama.

McCain says the issue was essentially settled when Barry Goldwater ran for president in 1964. Goldwater was born in Arizona Territory. A legal opinion, at the time, said that Goldwater was eligible.

Nevertheless, McCain is supposed to be seeking a new opinion to clarify his situation.

The Canal Zone was US Territory at the time of McCain's birth. He is more than likely legally eligible, but legal decisions can be strange sometimes.

This brings up an interesting question. When I was serving in Germany in the 60s, the US Army hospital was on a busy city street in a suburb of Heidelberg. If an American gives birth there, does that make the baby ineligible to be a future president?

I do not know the answer, but I think the answer lies in the fact the hospital is considered US territory. That Army hospital, by the way, still had Third Reich swastikas in full view etched in the wood beams and iron framework inside the hospital rooms and corridors—probably still does.

This brings up another interesting question, though. If an American citizen US Embassy employee in, say, Austria gives birth at an Austrian hospital in downtown Vienna, does that make the baby ineligible to be a future president?

[frawin]

Waldo, I believe that Constitution states " the candidate must be a Natural Born Citizen of the United States", not born in the United States. Further that he must be a resident of the United States for 14 years.
Frank Winn

[W. Gray]

It is an interesting situation that is forcing McCain, and forced Goldwater, to seek a legal opinion.

[W. Gray]

More on McCain's birth.

McCain's story broke in the New York Times this morning and the Denver Post picked it up from them.

The concept of a natural born citizen has never been fully fleshed-out in the courts according to what came out on CBS TV news.

The Associated Press says that McCain's  attorney told their reporter that, in his opinion, people born to parents who are American citizens qualify as "natural-born citizens."

[frawin]

This came up earlier in the week and I pulled up information on Think Quest Library .com and they have information on the subject. One place I saw there was no question that if born to parents that are both US citizens the baby was a natural born citizen no matter where it is born The point being if a baby is born in a foreign country to parents that are both in the US Military, could you question that he is a natural born US Citizen.
Frank

[W. Gray]

I could not.

But apparently there are those who do, requiring McCain to seek a legal opinion. He has to seek the opinion because the courts have never fully addressed what is a natural born citizen.


Arnold in California will tell you that he was naturally born--and he is a citizen of the US.

[Teresa]

You mean Ron Paul just MIGHT have a shot at it after all? 

Doubt it.. Ron is too much like a common man.. and makes too much sense... 
But it would be nice to have someone in there like him  with a normal head on their shoulders.
JMO...

[flo]

excuse this ignorant person, please, but have a question.  Babies born to U.S. Citizens on foreign soil is still considered a U.S. citizen.  Then why is a baby born to illegal immigrants a U.S. citizen because he was born in this country?

[W. Gray]

Teresa,

Ron Paul is like Harold Stassen. He dont get no respect from Republicans.

Stassen ran as a Republican for the presidential nomination every four years for what seemed a lifetime and I guess it was. He started in 1948 and quite after 1992.