Did McCain Check This Out
>> Tuesday, February 19, 2008
File this under things I didn't know; John McCain was born in Panama. This is important because in order to be President, you have to have be over the age of 35, been a US Citizen for 14 years and be a "natural born citizen" (see page 10). The Canal Zone qualifies and is most likely where he was born, as his father was an admiral. However, if he was born outside of the Canal Zone, then he is may not be eligible to be President. I can't find anything official, but most biographies indicate Canal Zone.
I sure hope someone one McCain's staff has checked this out BEFORE he ends up with the Republican nomination. The closest comparison comes from Barry Goldwater, who was born in Arizona...before it became a state. The ruling was that because it was a territory, the native born clause in the Constitution could apply to him.
Check out this discussion.
On a side note. Jack McCain has followed his father's and grandfather's footsteps and is at Annapolis. His great-grandpappy was also an admiral. Jimmy McCain is a Marine with a combat tour under his belt. This tells me that John McCain has instilled a sense of patriotism, self-reliance, common sense, and achievement into his children. I think this speaks well of his character. You may also want to check out Meghan McCain's blog.
2 comments:
Very interesting indeed. Hopefully someone looked into all of this before JM started running the last time (2000). Growing up in AZ (after age 10 to age 21) you would have thought I would have known he was born in Panama. Well come to think of it, some where in the recesses of my mind I think he mentioned it on his guest speaker day in my poly-sci class, but I must not have realized what a big deal it was back then.
Hey does this mean that DJ can or can not run for president when he gets old enough? Being that he was born on the USAF base in the UK?
It's interesting to me for 2 reasons. One, because I am a geek and like knowing about such things so I can bore people at parties where you have to stick out your little finger to drink tea.
Two, because the most likely Republican nominee was born outside of any of the 50 states or 6 US territories. It would be rather easy to defeat a candidate who is not eligible to hold office. Except in Missouri...they did elect a man who died well before the election.
The Canal Zone in Panama was under a long term lease, much like Guantanamo, Cuba. I'm not sure about the base in Britain. I'm afraid, DJ will have to be content with being the Governor of California.
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