[TexasVoter]

This explains clearly why there is and ought to be a distinction between "citizen" and "natural born Citizen."

[TribalPrincess2U]

Where's the HELL NO button?

This explains clearly why there is and ought to be a distinction between "citizen" and "natural born Citizen."

Yes it does!

[gotribe]

Couldn’t be any worse than the current guy.

[xzins]

The Constitution itself says there is a difference between "citizen" and "natural born citizen".

Article 2 says:

No Person except a natural born Citizen, shall be eligible to the Office of President;

No person except a natural born citizen...shall be eligible to the Office of President.

For the Adoption of the Constitution generation: "a citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution..."

Mere citizens were permitted the presidency at the time of the adoption of the Constitution.

Afterwards, they had to be a particular type of citizen: a "natural born citizen"

Mere citizens are not eligible.

[BurningOak]

This is a silly argument, there is absolutely no reason to dump Awlaki with Jindhal or Rubio. There are plenty of loathsome human beings who were born here of 2 US citizen parents, should Timothy Mcveigh be eligible to run for President? How about the Batman shooter? Its a nonesensical argument. Awlaki could not run for President because he committed high treason agaisnt the US, not because he doesn’t meet a madeup definition of Natural Born Citizen.

[DiogenesLamp]

Article II sets the MINIMUM requirements. Qualifications beyond that are left to the supposedly good judgement of the American People.

Given how things have transpired, that Idea is no longer functional, but when it started, voting was limited to property owning taxpayers, and therefore were much more likely to exercise GOOD judgement.