Free Republic is not the reason a poll of this nature is meaningless.
The reason is found in this false and misleading statement … After all, you can define “natural born” various ways — by place of birth, parents’ citizenship, or some combo thereof,
No, you can’t.
After reading several of the responses, I can see that most who respond have confused legitimate citizenship with natural born. A candidate can be a citizen and not be a natural born citizen.
The natural born constitutional requirement is limited to candidates for president. No other elected office carries that condition.
Article 2, Section 1
No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.
Natural born refers to the candidate’s parents, not the candidate. Both of the candidates’ parents must be American citizens to meet the condition of natural born. The founders’ reason for a natural born president was to eliminate any possibility of a shared allegiance with the nation of one of his parent’s birth.
No amendment to the Constitution has revised that condition. Neither Obama or Cruz are natural born citizens.
Polling on such a topic is meaningless, what percentage of those people do you think know anything about it, or even how many congressmen there are, look at how mistaken you are, and you read about it.
As your two term president finishes his time in office, it would be great if he gets replaced by American Ted Cruz.