“If the right plaintiff(s) would have come forward before the inauguration, and if an injunction would have been granted temporarily suspending the swearing-in of Obama, then perhaps this is something that could have been handled by the courts.”
And if this is what had happened the courts would have said that since he wasn’t THE president then there is no case to be heard. The courts were and are not going to hear this case no matter what. It is dereliction on their part and it has put a stain on our Constitution.
I don’t know where he was born but by securing all medical records pertaining to his birth I will believe that he is guilty of being an illegal president. He brings it on himself.
Candidate eligibility cases are heard virtually every election year in state courts, and sometimes even in federal court, all across the country. In fact, it's not uncommon at all. The most frequent challenge to a candidate's eligibility comes when a candidate perhaps doesn't live a the appropriate district, or county or city or that the candidate didn't acquire the requisite number of qualifying petition signatures and his/her challenger (or the challenger's party) will file suit to obtain an injunction to keep that candidate's name from appearing on the ballot or from assuming the office if actually elected. Again, happens all the time.
The office of the President - or Senator/Representative - is a little different by virtue of the fact that these are Constitutionally prescribed offices. Once they actually take office, the Judiciary is either limited or completely foreclosed from removing them - that is something that is Constitutionally in the sole purview of the Legislature.
If someone with legitimate standing - Like McCain or according to Judge Carter, perhaps even Keyes - would have filed for injunctive relief prior to the election (presumably to keep Obama's name off the ballot) or prior to the Inauguration, to keep him from assuming the office, AND they had credible evidence that he indeed wasn't born in the country, I have NO DOUBT that case would have been heard, even by the most liberal of judges.
The argument that Obama doesn't qualify as an NBC because of the foreign-national status of his father is far less compelling, IMHO. But, I suppose that it's possible, perhaps even likely, that argument would have been heard as well. It may not have prevailed, but it probably would have been heard.