McCain is / was an NBC, regardless of the location of his birth.
Obama is not / was not an NBC, regardless of the location of his birth.
COngress can only confer statutory citizenship (i.e., “naturalized”) on anyone.
A statutory citizen can never be an NBC, and vice versa.
There is little to no doubt what the founders and framers intended here. A natural born citizen can never (in appearance or in fact) be calimed by a foreign power.
That's not how the Court has read the law.
COngress can only confer statutory citizenship (i.e., “naturalized”) on anyone.
Both McCain and Obama were citizens at birth. Hence, they are natural born citizens, by the commonly accepted definition of the phrase, not likely to be overturned.
There is little to no doubt what the founders and framers intended here. A natural born citizen can never (in appearance or in fact) be calimed by a foreign power.
Under that reasoning, a foreign government not wanting Candidate X to become the US president could keep him out of the race simply by passing a law making him a citizen of their miserable nation and inviting him to come down to their embassy and pick up his passport. The framers never meant to cede US sovereignty in that way or any other. It has to be up to the voters to decide whether a candidate who meets the basic legal requirements is actually a patriot or not.