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Let me preface this with, I am not one who doubted that Obama was born in Hawaii and I'm not into all of these "I can prove the certificate is a fake" thing. How on earth could there be an announcement in the Honolulu newspaper the week of his birth if he wasn't born there?

One of the guys that I work with looked at the birth certificate online and said "still doesn't prove that he is a "Natural born citizen", which is what is required to be president. So I looked up the text for the requirement. Article II, Section 1, Clause 5....

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.

So what is natural born citizen...

In other words, the U.S. Senate defines “natural born citizen” as an individual who was born:

1. On American soil (which includes U.S. overseas military bases); and
2. Of parents who were American citizens at the time of the child’s birth.

Interesting read.... http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/35948

So does Obama qualify??

The Constitution never defined what being a natural born citizen meant - it's been defined over time through English Common law as well as several court decisions, including dissents, so there's probably enough there for people to argue, although not successfully, for various meanings. Just because Obama was elected didn't mean people just started debating this - there were similar whackos on the left side who were ready to challenge the legitimacy of McCain to be President since he was born in the Canal Zone in Panama. I like to think you're a natural born citizen if you're born on US soil, or under it's jurisdiction (i.e. territories or military bases or the like), or if you're born to American citizens. I'm not sure it's as clear as that, though.

But under your definitions a couple can cross over from Mexico have a child on US soil and that would make that child a Natural Born Citizen. I don't think that is what the framers of the constitution had in mind. They were very specific in their language distinguishing the requirement for being president of the US to be a higher level.

McCain was challenged in 2008 in regards to his birthplace and the US Senate passed Resolution 511. http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtex ... =sr110-511

Whereas John Sidney McCain, III, was born to American citizens on an American military base in the Panama Canal Zone in 1936: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That John Sidney McCain, III, is a `natural born Citizen' under Article II, Section 1, of the Constitution of the United States.

By the way look at the sponsors of the resolution.

GannonFan wrote:The Constitution never defined what being a natural born citizen meant - it's been defined over time through English Common law as well as several court decisions, including dissents, so there's probably enough there for people to argue, although not successfully, for various meanings. Just because Obama was elected didn't mean people just started debating this - there were similar whackos on the left side who were ready to challenge the legitimacy of McCain to be President since he was born in the Canal Zone in Panama. I like to think you're a natural born citizen if you're born on US soil, or under it's jurisdiction (i.e. territories or military bases or the like), or if you're born to American citizens. I'm not sure it's as clear as that, though.

I think there is an exception to this for children born to foreigners stationed at foreign embassies in the US. Those children are born in the US but not under US jurisdiction, and thereby (I'm pretty sure) not naturalized US citizens.

Another recent piece on this topic with plenty of legal references... http://drkatesview.wordpress.com/2011/0 ... n-citizen/

Any legal minds out there have the answer to this??