Yes McCain Was Born In The Panama Canal Zone And Yes He Is Eligible To Be President Under The Constitution
The Drudge Report has this teaser up: NYT: MCCAIN’S BIRTHPLACE IN CANAL ZONE RAISES ELIGIBILITY QUESTIONS… . I looked to this WaPo article dated Thursday, July 9, 1998 and the question was asked and answered:
Question: I would like to see Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) as a presidential candidate, but I heard that he was born in the Panama Canal Zone. The Constitution requires that a president be a “natural born” citizen of the United States. Is Sen. McCain barred from the presidency? – Steven R. Pruett, Falls Church, Va.
Answer: John McCain has more pressing worries than eligibility on the road to the Republican presidential nomination in 2000. After his lead role in pushing campaign-finance and tobacco legislation, both anathema to the Senate GOP leadership, the Arizona senator may have to spend a lot of time trying to prove his party credentials before he ever gets to Iowa or New Hampshire.
But is he constitutionally qualified to become president? McCain was indeed born in the Canal Zone, and Article II of the Constitution plainly states that “no person except a natural born Citizen… shall be eligible to the Office of President.”
Article II of the Constitution (FindLaw Internet Legal Resources)
Some might define the term “natural-born citizen” as one who was born on United States soil. But the First Congress, on March 26, 1790, approved an act that declared, “The children of citizens of the United States that may be born beyond sea, or outside the limits of the United States, shall be considered as natural-born citizens of the United States.” That would seem to include McCain, whose parents were both citizens and whose father was a Navy officer stationed at the U.S. naval base in Panama at the time of John’s birth in 1936.
“He meets the requirement of U.S. citizenship in order to be eligible for president,” said McCain spokesperson Nancy Ives. (For the record, McCain says the only thing on his plate is his bid for a third Senate term in November, though he is seen as a shoo-in.)
The citizenship question has come up in past presidential campaigns. George Romney, the late Michigan governor and a leading aspirant for the 1968 Republican presidential nomination, was born in Chihuahua, Mexico. His support nose-dived following his September 1967 statement that he was “brainwashed” by the U.S. military during a visit to Vietnam.
But during the period when he was still being touted as the only Republican who could defeat President Lyndon Johnson, Romney’s opponents often raised the issue of his eligibility. William Loeb, the late publisher of the Manchester Union Leader who made his conservative views well known to New Hampshire primary voters, simply dismissed Romney as “Chihuahua George.” But Romney was eligible. Romney’s grandfather emigrated to Mexico in 1886 with his three wives and children after Congress outlawed polygamy. Romney and his parents, who retained their U.S. citizenship, returned to the United States in 1912, the year Mexico erupted into revolution. The future governor didn’t arrive in Michigan until 1939, when he was 32 years old. He didn’t run for office until 1962.
McCain, on the other hand, didn’t get to Arizona until 1981, a year before winning election to Congress, when he was 44. In 1986, after two terms in the House, McCain won the Senate seat being vacated by the retiring Barry Goldwater, the GOP’s presidential nominee in 1964. Ironically, Goldwater was born in Phoenix in 1909 – three years before Arizona became a state. But no one questioned whether he was a “natural-born citizen.”
As soon as the NYT’s piece becomes available, I will compare and contrast it for you! And here it is
A non-issue, but the Times just wanted you to “think” about it.
February 27, 2008 - 10:09 PM on February 27th, 2008
[...] Yes McCain Was Born In The Panama Canal Zone And Yes He Is Eligible To Be President Under The Consti… [...]
February 28, 2008 - 08:40 AM on February 28th, 2008
[...] (h/t Right Voices) [...]
February 28, 2008 - 10:29 AM on February 28th, 2008
TTLF: Grey Lady Wonders If McCain Is Eligible To Be President
Back on February 8th, I posted about the nexty lefty meme being that McCain is not eligible to be President because he was born at Coco Solo Air Base in the Panama Canal Zone, August 29, 1936. Now, the New York Times jumps in with one of those “w…
February 28, 2008 - 10:34 AM on February 28th, 2008
Why is this even an issue? McCain is not going to be elected President.
Reason 1: McCain has alienated the GOP right and continues to do so.
Reason 2: the MSM is turning on him. He’s no longer their darling turncoat.
Reason 3: The Democrats are going to stuff the ballotboxes like no one’s business to get the power they’ve been denied for 8 years.
February 28, 2008 - 10:42 AM on February 28th, 2008
McCain has a very good chance of being elected. McCain has alienated a portion of the right, not all of it. Actually, the NYT’s are the only one turning on him…The other outlets are giving him a pass because they are delighted to see the right split on his candidacy.
February 28, 2008 - 11:33 AM on February 28th, 2008
“McCain is not going to be elected President.”
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Holy Shit!
PCD and SFL actually AGREE on something together!!
February 28, 2008 - 12:10 PM on February 28th, 2008
6, go wash your mouth out with soap!
February 28, 2008 - 05:36 PM on February 28th, 2008
Obama is the candidate of hope! And if he is elected, we will all have to:
1. Hope he actually has some sort of a plan, and not just empty rhetoric.
2. Hope he somehow comes up to speed as a Chief Executive, since he has apparently never managed anything in his life. Perhaps the Oval Office will be a fine OJT school for new Executives in training.
3.Hope he somehow acquires even a basic grasp of the Military before he does anything as CIC.
4. Hope he dosn’t do something off the wall, something incredibly stupid, until he has had a few briefings on Foreign Policy at least.
5. Hope that he learns fast at formal dinners you start with the outermost fork and work in…
6. Hope he takes his time to figure out where he’s at first before trying to do anything radical.
That’s for starters…
February 28, 2008 - 05:41 PM on February 28th, 2008
Lets not forget Change Robert. He can change the way the terrorists see us. After all he’s of the muslim world!!
February 28, 2008 - 10:13 PM on February 28th, 2008
“After all he’s of the muslim world!!”
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Muslim call to prayer; “one of the prettiest sounds on Earth”
- Sen. Obama
(And he’s probably right!)
February 29, 2008 - 07:06 AM on February 29th, 2008
10, SFL, you never answered, “How do you spend Hope at a grocery store?”
June 10, 2008 - 06:16 AM on June 10th, 2008
[...] McCain underwent intense scrutiny of his citizenship status because of his birth in the Panama Canal zone, leading the Senate to declare him a natural-born citizen in April. Bookmark [...]