“McCain was not eligible to be President”
His father was in the US military stationed at Panama and his mother was also there. Every US military post in any country is considered American soil plus both his parents were citizens but if one had been a citizen, he would still be an American citizen. McCain was a US citizen when he was born. A person is natural born if no court document is required to make him/her a citizen. A naturalized citizen is not natural born citizen as a court document is required to make him/her a citizen.
Your idea that a military base in a foreign country constitutes American SOIL is wishful thinking on your part.
Don't go there.
Because, then, any Panamanian baby dropped on the base would be a natural born citizen. And that's not the case.
McCain is a natural born citizen because of this parentage, not because of where he was born.
If that were true then the child of any foreign national who happened to be born on the base would be a U.S. citizen. And I don't think that's true.
You are so close, but... If a court document is needed to establish citizenship you are definitely not natural born. However, it is also true that if the legislature must make a statute to confirm citizenship you are equally NOT natural born. If one parent is foreign, as an example, the potential is there absent statute, that even if you were born in America your citizenship is a question. Obama is therefore NOT natural born, and Cruz is definitely NOT natural born.
That's a common misconception. U.S. military installations abroad are not considered U.S. soil for the purposes of citizenship. The following text is from the State Department's Foreign Affairs Manual.
7 FAM 1113 NOT INCLUDED IN THE MEANING OF “IN THE UNITED STATES”Additionally, acquiring one's citizenship at birth by statute may not be equal to natural-born citizenship under the Constitution. The following text is also from the State Department's Foreign Affairs Manual.c. Birth on U.S. Military Base Outside of the United States or Birth on U.S. Embassy or Consulate Premises Abroad:
(1) Despite widespread popular belief, U.S. military installations abroad and U.S. diplomatic facilities are not part of the United States within the meaning of the 14th Amendment. A child born on the premises of such a facility is not subject to U.S. jurisdiction and does not acquire U.S. citizenship by reason of birth.”
7 FAM 1131.6-2 Eligibility for PresidencyThat said, I'm all for a Cruz presidency. His bodily waste is more American than Obama could ever hope to be.(TL:CON-68; 04-01-1998)
a. It has never been determined definitively by a court whether a person who acquired U.S. citizenship by birth abroad to U.S. citizens is a natural born citizen within the meaning of Article II of the Constitution and, therefore, eligible for the Presidency.
d. (snip) In any event, the fact that someone is a natural born citizen pursuant to a statute does not necessarily imply that he or she is such a citizen for Constitutional purposes.