fred,
not to get into a contest with you, but US tax laws relating to dependants are complicated and many times other than parents claim the child as a dependant for those purposes even though the parent may contribute to the welfare and education. 50% is minimum for tax purposes, and only one person can claim the child for tax purposes. Maybe this will help:
http://www.libertytax.com/eligible-dependents-for-tax-purposes.html
The only reason I posted that tax document was because it showed the Soetoro couple only claimed one child as a dependent on their 1973 return. You can make as many guesses as to why as you like, quote me any rules you want, the fact remains. They didn’t claim him as a dependent child.
And that fits with what Sven has been trying to tell us over and over again for-ever.
They couldn’t claim him BECAUSE HE WASN’T DEPENDENT UPON THEM.