“Apparently, having a foreign nation declare you as a citizen bars you from the Presidency? Doesn’t that open us up to every two-bit dictator in the world deciding who can be President? After all, what if Hugo Chavez declares Sarah Palin as a citizen of Venezuela - according to this logic, she would be barred from running for the Presidency or Vice Presidency.”
Although I agree with your overrall argument, I don’t think this line of reasoning is fruitful. We’re not talking here about arbitrary acts of dictators, which can easily be ignored as extra-legal by our authorities. We’re talking about a process that’s been in place for a long time; i.e. being able to claim citizenship through your parents regardless of where you’re born.
And therein lies the rub! As far as I can tell, neither Arthur or Obama claimed British citizenship; wouldn’t that be evidence with your concern that they are NOT citizens? The British may extend citizenship to them, but if it is not accepted, does that citizenship still hold sway?
Otherwise simply being declared a “natural born citizen” of another nation - remember, citizenship rules are not universal, each nation treats them differently - would rule you out from the highest office of the land. Chavez could pick our President, simply by virtue of granting citizenship to each and every person save the individual he wanted elected.
So for those born to a foreign parent, it’s not about what claims their parent’s nation might have on them, but what fealty they volunteer to such a nation. Do you bend knee to another nation, so to speak. And in light of this, I cannot see how either Arthur or Obama cannot be considered a natural born citizen (barring some other reason they should be disqualified).
“”If Obama is eligible to be President then so are the sons of Osama Bin Laden, Kim Jong Il and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad if they impregnate an American woman who gives birth on US soil. The very notion is obscene.
Such a person might be a US citizen under current policy, but their citizenship is not natural born and they cannot be President and Commander In Chief of the US armed forces.”
Leo Donofrio
http://advanceindiana.blogspot.com/2009/11/bad-cases-make-bad-law.html