John McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone, which was US territory at the time (before Jimmah Carter gave it away). I belive that his father was also stationed there at the time, in service to the US Navy - otherwise how would that effect the eligibility of future service brats who were born at the parents overseas posting?
He was not born on the base, but was born in a clinic in town.
Fred you have been around reading this argument long enough to know that isn't correct.
The "Panama Canal Zone" was not part of the US--it was part of Panama which had and retained sovereignty. Further, McCain wasn't born in the Zone--his birth certificate is in general circulation and it tells you exactly where he was born--the hospital was not located in the zone at all but in Panama outside the zone.
And does it "affect the eligibility of future service brats . . . born at the parent's overseas posting?" You bet it does and persons in the service of the US were told at basic training that citizenship and rights of any children born to them offshore were subject to different rules than would be applicable if born in the US and the differences were explained in detail. I doubt that at the time, any of these people think the kid might have a problem not being eligible to be President of the US because he was born at a duty station but that is the way it works.
If we don't like it that way, all we need to do to fix it is amend the Constitution.