[TheOldLady]

The founders exempted themselves, or none of them would have been able to serve. That’s in the eligibility clause.

[Texan Tory]

The founders exempted themselves, or none of them would have been able to serve. That’s in the eligibility clause.

Yes, here it is, straight from the constitution:

"No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President"

So the question comes down to the definition of a natural born citizen. Because the definition of a natural born citizen is not stated in the constitution, judicial interpretation of the meaning becomes important, and there is case law on this that can be construed to support various interpretations. So ultimately, I think it is a valid question whether Barack Obama's status as a natural born citizen is affected by the citizenship of his father, who was a British subject in the colony of Kenya. I doubt that a case on the natural born citizenship of Barack Obama will ever reach the Supreme Court. If such a case ever does reach the Supreme Court, I think all nine justices will affirm that Barack Obama is a natural born citizen; there is enough wiggle room in the meaning of what a natural born citizen is that they will probably be fairly comfortable in justifying the decision.