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It seems to me in the name of transparency and fair play---that the President of the United States should now work to dispel any suspicions of some underlying ulterior agenda by coming out in the open with his birth certificate for our inspection. McCain did not expect us to rely on a statement from a state adminstrator that he was born where claimed. In fact, the democrats would have relentlessly wailed against such a thing--the media would have demanded to see the evidence, not just a third party 'statement'. McCain understood this and proactively released his actual, detailed birth certificate--verfiable...

While running for the Republican presidential nomination in 1976, Ronald Reagan stumbled onto an issue that energized his upstart campaign. In stop after stop, he recalled, people expressed “utter disbelief” that an American president — the Republican incumbent, Gerald R. Ford — would even think of relinquishing control over the Panama Canal. Knowing next to nothing about its history, but quite a lot about the politics of flag-waving, Reagan quickly turned the canal into a symbol of American resolve in an increasingly dangerous and disrespectful world. “We bought it, we paid for it, it’s ours,” he told the cheering crowds,...

The enigmatic phrase “natural born citizen” poses a series of problems for contemporary originalism. New Originalists, like Justice Scalia, focus on the original public meaning of the constitutional text. The notion of a “natural born citizen” was likely a term of art derived from the idea of a “natural born subject” in English law—a category that most likely did not extend to persons, like Senator McCain, who were born outside sovereign territory. But the Constitution speaks of “citizens” and not “subjects,” introducing uncertainties and ambiguities that might (or might not) make McCain eligible for the presidency.

The 2008 election cycle has been a busy one for legal disputes over the qualifications of presidential candidates, with federal cases having been filed to challenge both major candidates’ eligibility under the “natural born Citizen” clause. These cases unquestionably present vital questions of constitutional law, touching on matters of self-evident national importance. It is doubtful, however, that they are justiciable in lower federal courts. Standing requirements and the political question doctrine make it unlikely that a federal court will reach the merits in cases of the type filed to date.

<p>SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit seeking to remove John McCain from the California ballot because he was born in the Panama Canal Zone.</p> <p>U.S. District Judge William Alsup ruled late Tuesday that the law at the time of McCain's birth automatically granted citizenship to offspring of U.S. citizens.</p>

Lawsuit over McCain citizenship should be tossed, GOP lawyers say By Josh Richman Oakland Tribune Article Launched: 08/28/2008 06:19:23 PM PDT Lawyers for John McCain and the state and national Republican Party on Thursday asked a federal judge in San Francisco to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the candidate's place on California's Nov. 4 ballot. Markham Robinson of Vacaville, chairman-elect of California's American Independent Party, sued McCain, the GOP and California Secretary of State Debra Bowen on Aug. 11, arguing the presidential candidate's birth 72 years ago today in the Panama Canal Zone means he's not a "natural-born citizen" — a...

CONCORD – A federal judge dismissed Thursday a Nashua man's legal challenge that Republican presidential nominee-to-be Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., was ineligible because he was born in the Panama Canal Zone.

I didn't post a link to this because I wasn't sure if we could link to snopes.com, but I felt it important enough to post. It's amazing that no one in the MSM is at all concerned whether or not Obama is a natural-born citizen, but we better make damn sure McCain is! Check out how thorough snopes researches the question. Plus the fact that they claim the status is "undetermined." This was posted today at snopes.

Natural Born Citizen Clause The clause of the U.S. Constitution barring persons not born in the United States from the Presidency. [Black’s Law Dictionary, Eighth Edition] [cf. Natural Born Citizen Clause] Greetings, The analysis below is indeed helpful, but it is erroneous and/or misleading on several important points which do deserve further clarification, as follows: (1) there are two (2) classes of citizens under American laws never repealed, not one (1) class: http://www.supremelaw.org/rsrc/twoclass.htm (see all links at the very end) Federal citizens aka "citizens of the United States" were not even contemplated with Article III -- and hence Article II...

Congress is the place to challenge McCain’s or Obama’s qualifications to be President The New York Times has twice ran articles questioning whether John McCain’s birth in the Panama Canal Zone would disqualify him to be President based on Article II of the U.S. Constitution: “No Person except a natural born Citizen . . . shall be eligible to the Office of President”. “Natural born” is not defined. The blogosphere is ripe with speculation that Obama may also fail to meet the qualification, since his supporters posted online an inauthentic copy of a birth certificate purporting to be for Barack...

Here they go again: Today the New York Times ran yet another flaky story questioning the presidential eligibility of John McCain, born in 1936 in the Panama Canal Zone, where his Navy father was stationed. Back on February 28, Congressional reporter Carl Hulse wrote a big story on the "controversy," even though Hulse himself admitted little was likely to come of it. The Senate later approved a resolution declaring McCain eligible for the presidency. Law reporter Adam Liptak's story today, which led the paper's National Section, ran under the hopeful headline, "A Hint of New Life to a McCain Birth...

Disqualifying Obama from Presidency. Many here (and in Kook World) think we can disqualify Obama for the presidency with a claim that he not a natural born citizen of the U.S. Here’s how we can do it! First, Obama has no responsibility to “prove” he is a citizen. If we want to disqualify him, we would have to bring civil suit asking for a declaratory judgment that he does not meet the constitutional requirements and therefore must be disqualified. We have a few problems here. USC Title 8 provides many other ways than being born within the bounds of the...

In the most detailed examination yet of Senator John McCain’s eligibility to be president, a law professor at the University of Arizona has concluded that neither Mr. McCain’s birth in 1936 in the Panama Canal Zone nor the fact that his parents were American citizens is enough to satisfy the constitutional requirement that the president must be a “natural-born citizen.” The analysis, by Prof. Gabriel J. Chin, focused on a 1937 law that has been largely overlooked in the debate over Mr. McCain’s eligibility to be president. The law conferred citizenship on children of American parents born in the Canal...

Presumptive Republican nominee's birth location revives debate over the constitutional requirement that limits the presidency to 'natural born' citizens. By Eunice MoscosoWASHINGTON BUREAU Saturday, July 05, 2008 WASHINGTON — Is Sen. John McCain a natural born citizen? Or is he ineligible to be president? The presumptive Republican presidential nominee was born Aug. 29, 1936 — not within the 50 United States, but in the Panama Canal Zone, where his father, a Navy officer, was stationed. His birth location has revived a long-standing debate over the constitutional requirement that limits the presidency to "natural born" citizens. The problem is that the...

The Senate has unanimously declared John McCain a natural-born citizen, eligible to be president of the United States. That is the good news for the presumptive Republican nominee, who was born nearly 72 years ago in a military hospital in the Panama Canal Zone, then under U.S. jurisdiction. The bad news is that the nonbinding Senate resolution passed Wednesday night is simply an opinion that has little bearing on an arcane constitutional debate that has preoccupied legal scholars for many weeks.

Via S&L, a typically shrewd move by the Messiah on three counts — blunting any criticism of his own citizenship status; showing himself to be as magnanimous towards his opponent as Maverick was after l’affaire Cunningham; and avoiding any potential confrontation foisted on him by his dimmer supporters who’d dare challenge McCain’s right to American citizenship based on his military pedigree. Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign announced he would co-sponsor legislation introduced yesterday by his political ally Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) to ensure that John McCain can become president, even though he was born in the Panama Canal Zone. “Senator McCain...

FT. WORTH, Texas -- Sen. Barack Obama's campaign announced he would co-sponsor legislation introduced yesterday by his political ally Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill to ensure that John McCain can become president, even though he was born in the Panama Canal Zone. The issue of McCain's eligibility was raised in a New York Times article noting the constitutional requirement that a U.S. president be a "natural-born citizen" had never been fully defined.

WASHINGTON — Senator John McCain said Thursday that he had no concerns about his meeting the constitutional qualifications for the presidency because of his birth in the Panama Canal Zone. A Democratic colleague said she wanted to remove even a trace of doubt. The Democrat, Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri, introduced legislation that would declare that any child born abroad to citizens serving in the United States military would meet the constitutional requirement that anyone serving as president be a “natural born” citizen. “In America, so many parents say to their young children, ‘If you work hard and you...

RICHARDSON, Texas (AP) — Republican presidential hopeful John McCain said Thursday the question of whether he can run for president, despite being born in the Panama Canal Zone, was put to rest 44 years ago in Barry Goldwater's run for the White House.McCain added that he doesn't know why his campaign sought legal analysis of whether his birth outside the continental United States might disqualify him from the presidency.The Constitution says only a "natural-born citizen" may serve as president.McCain's campaign asked former Solicitor General Ted Olson for a legal interpretation of the issue.McCain himself insists the issue was put to...

The first statute on the citizenship of children born abroad, enacted in 1790, stated: "The children of citizens of the United States, that may be born beyond sea, or out of the limits of the United States, shall be considered as natural born citizens: Provided, That the right of citizenship shall not descend to persons whose fathers have never been resident in the United States." Act of Mar. 26, 1790, ch. 3, 1 Stat. 104. Statutes passed in 1795 and 1802 similarly conditioned the citizenship of the child born abroad on the father's at least one-time residence in the United...