Obama's Birth Certificate Released

[SOM]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

I'd be surprised if any other presidents ever produced a birth certificate. It only became an issue in this case (well, if you put aside obsessive conspiracy theories) because of the fact that his father wasn't American, his mother had lived overseas before and after his birth, and the fact that some people apparently had trouble remembering exactly when Hawaii became a state.

What's interesting to me is that I remember more "conversation" before the election about whether McCain is a natural-born citizen than whether Obama is.

MysticCat:
The "conversation" or "question" was raised, for a very short period of time. And never answered. In fact, the only way that it could have been was if Sen John McCain was election and sworn in. At that point any party with standing would have filed suit and it would have ended up at the USSC. Note:The GOP never filed a suit after Obama sworn in.
On John McCain: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2008/may/12/born-usa/
http://www.factcheck.org/askfactcheck/how_can_panamanian-born_mccain_be_elected_president.html
http://www.snopes.com/politics/mccain/citizen.asp
http://www.michiganlawreview.org/first-impressions/volume/107
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/28/us/politics/28mccain.html
http://genealogy.about.com/b/2008/08/30/john-mccains-citizenship-status.htm
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/04/trumps-birther-libel-and-american-history/237217/

This could be the real issue down the road for anyone else running for office who is a military brat. And an issue only the USSC can rule on. And rule on only after the election and swearing in.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by SOM

MysticCat:
The "conversation" or "question" was raised, for a very short period of time. And never answered. In fact, the only way that it could have been was if Sen John McCain was election and sworn in. At that point any party with standing would have filed suit and it would have ended up at the USSC. Note:The GOP never filed a suit after Obama sworn in.
On John McCain: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2008/may/12/born-usa/
http://www.factcheck.org/askfactcheck/how_can_panamanian-born_mccain_be_elected_president.html
http://www.snopes.com/politics/mccain/citizen.asp
http://www.michiganlawreview.org/first-impressions/volume/107
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/28/us/politics/28mccain.html
http://genealogy.about.com/b/2008/08/30/john-mccains-citizenship-status.htm
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/04/trumps-birther-libel-and-american-history/237217/

This could be the real issue down the road for anyone else running for office who is a military brat. And an issue only the USSC can rule on. And rule on only after the election and swearing in.

Oh, I know it was raised about both candidates. I was just saying that I remember seeing more articles about whether McCain was a natural-born citizen than about whether Obama was. (This, of course, doesn't mean that there were in fact more articles about McCain -- just that I saw more articles about McCain.)

FYI, I don't know that the GOP would have had standing to sue. Many courts have said individuals do not have standing to sue, and many legal scholars question whether the issue is justiciable in the courts at all. I believe there is a statutory procedure by which a challenge can be made (before the inauguration) in Congress as part of the receipt of results from the electoral college. As for the answer, I would have been amazed and astounded if SCOTUS or anyone else with say-so had said McCain wasn't a natural-born citizen.