It’s not clear that simply producing the BC answers the questions. Some of the constitutional/legal questions that apparently are not settled:
1. In terms of eligibility to serve as President, is there a distinction between citizenship based on birthplace and citizenship based on descent?
2. If so, which means of attaining citizenship make one eligible to serve as President?
3. Under the laws in effect at the time, what is the effect on the “natural born” status of the child when either father or mother is a non-U.S. citizen?
4. What is the effect on a child’s “natural born citizen” status if, having attained citizenship by (1) birthplace or (2) descent, subsequently that child is adopted by the citizen of a different nation and made a citizen of his adoptive father’s land?
5. If there are factual ambiguities relevant to an individual’s “natural born citizen” status, what is the standard of proof that applies to eligiblity to serve as President?
6. What is the result/procedure if the evidence is insufficient to conclude an individual who is or may be the President-elect is a “natural born citizen”?
7. If a child’s parent’s foreign citizenship, under the laws of that nation, descends to the child at birth, what effect, if any, does that have on the child’s “natural born citizen” status? If it creates a disqualification that can be cured, what is the procedure/standard for curing it?
8. In this extremely important and unusual circumstance (verifying a President-elect’s qualification to serve as president), on what grounds can the presumption of regularity of an official document (such as a BC) be challenged, and who has standing to do so? Does the nature of the potential harm, and the infrequency in which fact patterns raise the issue, militate for a more lenient standard for stating a claim?
I'm not a lawyer but it seems to me that since many Americans entrusted Obama with their vote, that those who did vote would be the injured party if Obama is not natural born. Also, simply being on the ballot and not being a valid choice disenfranchises even voters who did not vote for him as he supplanted another cadidate who would be qualified based on birth status.
I really think birthplace was most important to the FF's. They wanted immersion in the Constitutional system and the president to grow up loving and experiencing their country. It's hard to do that from thousands of miles away.
What is the effect on a child’s “natural born citizen” status if, having attained citizenship by (1) birthplace or (2) descent, subsequently that child is adopted by the citizen of a different nation and made a citizen of his adoptive father’s land?
Under the assumption that natural born means born on U.S. soil for the reasons I stated, Obama's elibility would also be voided this way.
If a child’s parent’s foreign citizenship, under the laws of that nation, descends to the child at birth, what effect, if any, does that have on the child’s “natural born citizen” status?
Here again, I would argue nothing, if born on U.S. soil.