I still don’t think he should be qualified for Presidency. I really wish the rule was both parents MUST be born in the United States and the individual must be born in the United States. None of this naturalization business. We have 300+ million people in the United States and have only had 45 people as President and we can’t have strict rules for being President? I would not even mind having the Grandparents be ONLY born in the United States, but in this liberal world that would NEVER pass.
Ted is American as Apple Pie in my opinion.
Who is the 45th? Actually, since Grover Cleveland served two non-consecutive terms, I don’t think we’ve had 44.
This is a wish that the Founding Fathers had removed any discretion from We the People. It is a wish that there was a rule that would prevent us from electing a Patriot who just happened to be born on Canadian soil, even though he was raised in America by parents who love the United States.
The better test is: Is the man (or woman) a Patriot? Will he (or she) be a good leader? Is he (or she) actually committed to the interests of the nation and people of the United States?
There are plenty of US-born, citizen-parent politicians who won't hesitate to sell us down the river. If I start naming names, we'll be here all night.
From up Canada way and English born myself. Perhaps this may be considered by one and all. A certain important personage in British history happened to be born at Blenheim, England. His father was a high mucky muck, a lord no less. Always on the lookout for a little American wealth, he married an American woman in England. 1874 saw his son born in England.
Later on that son was introduced to the American legislature. Because of his leadership in WW2, he was given...... pause for effect.
Honorary American Citizenship.
I would presume that although the flamboyant and dazzling Jenny Jerome was born in the United States, she did not give American citizenship to her son. He was Winston Churchill. He was granted citizenship only because he did not have it.
America for Americans, says I.
It's not up to you. The Constitution was vague on the subject and subsequent court rulings specified that one must have ONE U.S. citizen parent who has lived in the U.S. for 10 years prior to the foreign birth. In such a case, the child is a U.S. citizen and qualified to run for president.
“I really wish the rule was blah blah blah...”
I wish the rule was anyone from anywhere could be president.
It is the voters who are the problem, not the potential candidates. For the voters, they should be citizens, have credentials to that fact, be over 35 years old, have no felonies, receive most of their annual income from provable non govt. sources, have and IQ above 85, be able to pass an 8th grade reading and math tests and 8th grade American history tests.
This whole where were you born crap would be moot if the voters were somewhat intelligent.
I’ll take Margaret Thacher as president any day and allow any communist to run too. But all I want is some level of qualifications for the voters.
So, we have strict rules for a Republican to run for President, but anything zero does is ok? Is that what I’m reading from your post? Strict rules went out the window in 2008.
Agree. A natural born citizen has no foreign citizenship to renounce.
In practice, the talent pool for POTUS is much, much thinner than you imply. Last November should be sufficient evidence to prove that assertion!
The Constitution says Natural Born. So be it. Only, they forgot to define it. So, we should go with the most obvious meaning, which is, citizen by birth. Cruz qualifies! And has way more IQ points than the average contender! End of story. Hilbots, go away!
I agree.
What I don’t understand is, as much as I love Cruz, and would LOVE to see him president, how can he be American if he was born on Canadian soil? I am American, married to a Canadian. Our son was born here in Western Pa. He is 100% American. Other freepers have said Cruz is American because his mom was American, however, my sister-in-law is Canadian married to an American. All of her children are 100% American, having been born here. By the reasoning of some freepers, all of her children are Canadian?
This is an issue that needs to be straightened out now. I, for one, believe that our president should be born on American soil of two American citizens. I don’t know what the law is, I just know what I believe is the best for our country.
“I really wish the rule was both parents MUST be born in the United States “
That was more difficult in the 1780s.
The big difference between Soetoro and Cruz is that Cruz is indubitably a citizen, while Soetoro is very likely an illegal alien.13 posted on August 19, 2013 9:37:27 PM EDT by Arthur McGowan
In reality, of course, the framers of the Constitution had no way of doing what they wanted to do = which was to assure that John Adam’s plea be fulfilled:"I pray to heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this house and on all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof.”The requirement for the PotUS be a “natural born citizen” was the best they could do.-- John Adams, Second President of the United States, Letter to Abigail, November 2, 1800, on moving into the White House
If Obama, who spent his childhood outside the US and not because his parents were in service to the US but because his mother married a Muslim, is actually “a natural born citizen,” that is a technicality.
And if Ted Cruz, who spent his childhood in a nominally Christian house briefly in Canada and maturing in the US, with a father who voluntarily became an American citizen, is not “a natural born citizen,” that too is a technicality.
Sorry, but I don’t understand why as the greatest nation of immigrants on earth, people are insistent that the Pres. must be US-born.
GRANDPARENTS??? Sheesh, how far back do you want to go?
I was born in the U.S. To a father who was (and is) a non-citizen. Although he is a U.S. Army veteran. I’m a U.S. Air Force Veteran myself. And if it was up to you I wouldn’t be eligible to be POTUS?
Wilson FDR Kennedy LBJ Nixon Carter Bush, HW Clinton
And, those are just the biggest loser/a-holes from the 20th century.
We need to face the fact that for the most part, our presidents suck. No offense, but I'm more concerned about that than I am about where a person's parents or grand-parents were born.