Can a US president have dual citizenship?
No.
The Constitution contains the term “natural born” for a US president. This term was used to prevent anyone with the possibility of having a foreign allegiance from becoming commander-in-chief of US forces, for obvious reasons (super fifth column, anyone?) A person with dual citizenship owes allegiance to both the US and the foreign government. They are required to obey the laws of both countries, which of course for a sitting US President would be disastrous to the US nation.
The term “natural born” is used to mean a singular allegiance to one and only one nation. Dual citizenship contradicts this.
(Note that it is unique that the US president is also the commander-in-chief, which entrusts the office of president with great power, so a concern of allegiance was on the minds of the framers of the Constitution. Senators and Representatives can be naturalized; the President cannot, because of the Commander-In-Chief power.)
All NATURALIZED citizens have to take an oath of ALLEGIANCE, to confirm they only have allegiance to the US and no other country. But this is not enough to fully repudiate possible allegiances to other countries.
So “allegiance” is the key here — at the time of the writing of the US Constitution, “natural born” was a term carefully chosen to define that allegiance - it means having a singular allegiance that derives from one's having been born of the soil of the nation - in this case, the US nation. This results in a kind of “super-allegiance”.
That is what the framers meant, and Constitutional lawyers have always recognized this to be the meaning.
So according to the Constitution, which explicitly and unambiguously uses with the term “natural born” when referring to qualifications for someone to be the US president, no, a US president cannot have dual citizenship. They must have that singular allegiance that can only be derived from having been born of US soil - “born here”.
Presidential candidate Alan Keyes, vice-presidential candidate Wiley S. Drake, and the Chairman of the American Independent Party, Markham Robinson, have filed suit in California Superior Court in Sacramento seeking to bar Secretary of State Debra Bowen from certifying to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger the names of Electors, and from transmitting to each presidential Elector a Certificate of Election, until documentary proof is produced and verified showing that Senator Obama is a “natural born” citizen of the United States, and does not hold citizenship of Indonesia, Kenya or Great Britain.
In addition, they have asked that the court issue a peremptory writ barring Senator Obama’s California Electors from signing the Certificate of Vote until such documentary proof is produced and verified.
In response to questions about why the suit was being filed, Ambassador Alan Keyes commented, “I and others are concerned that this issue be properly investigated and decided before Senator Obama takes office. Otherwise there will be a serious doubt as to the legitimacy of his tenure. This doubt would also affect the respect people have for the Constitution as the supreme law of the land. I hope the issue can be quickly clarified so that the new President can take office under no shadow of doubt. This will be good for him and for the nation.”
Key Word: Allegiance
Come on, the guy has disdain for what our country stands for. He's a world citizen, and dual-citizen. He was much more controlled mid to late 2008. Prior to that, he was much more loose with his true feelings. Alan Keyes suit is more important than this one. Unless this suit also addresses the dual-citizenship and dual allegiances. George Washington, et al would be disgusted by the disgrace of this anti-American world citizen.
Take a close look at this picture. His lack of allegiance is intentional. INTENTIONAL