Showing posts with label army. Show all posts
Showing posts with label army. Show all posts

Monday, March 10, 2008

If McCain can do it, so can I!

I've always wondered if I could be President. Today I found out that I can (in 9 years).

Apparently there is a debate going on about whether John McCain is eligible to be President. Article II of the Constitution provides that to be eligible for the Presidency, you need to be a natural born citizen, or a citizen, at the time of the adoption of the Constitution; 35 years old; and a resident of the US for 14 years. McCain was born on an army base in Panama. Statute, not this constitutional provision, makes people born abroad on army bases citizens. So I guess the issue is whether a person made citizen by statute is a natural born citizen; or, depending on how you interpret "...a citizen, at the time of the adoption of the Constitution", whether an army-base citizen is a type of citizen the framers of the Constitution may have envisioned in 1786. There are other interpretations too, but I won't get into those.

So anyway, it seems that most, except some far right wing Republicans, don't really think there is a problem with McCain's eligibility. So, as I was born in Germany on a base hospital, I too will one day be eligible to be President.

I've always wondered about this. My Certificate of Birth Abroad, opposed to a regular birth certificate, always confused the Tee Ball coaches during registration... but it looks like I'm alright. Watch out 2020!

D