Obama's Eligibility

[Najos]

So yeah, there's been talk about this for a long, long time now. I mostly ignored it as crazy people just looking for any reason to get rid of Obama, but a friend of mine was telling me some interesting stuff. I finally decided to look up some info myself and discovered that there's actually some lawsuits initiated.

Apparently on Monday (December 8th) there's going to be a press conference about it.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Mr-Obamas-Eligibility-Aired-Monday/story.aspx?guid={35E191D7-D7BD-4722-BAF1-E6C0CBC18EA3}

Now, what I don't really understand is why is Obama even balking? I mean, all he'd have to do is pony up a birth certificate and it'd all be over, right? The only thing that makes this even seem like a possibility is how he refuses to do it. I mean, why not? Actually, why the hell wouldn't this be a prerequisite to running for office anyway?

So, what do you guys think? Is it reasonable to ask for Obama to release this information? Is it reasonable to deny it? Is this just some crazy internet rumor that has gotten out of hand?

 

[crimsondynamics]

OK, the article mentions this:

"Under our Constitution, no one is eligible to assume the Office of the President unless he or she is a 'natural born citizen,'" said Bob Schulz, Chairman of the Foundation. "To date, Mr. Obama has refused all requests to release his original birth certificate or other documents that would definitively establish his citizenship status and thus his constitutional eligibility."

Fair enough. What troubles me is: why wasn't this information required to ensure a potential candidate's legitimacy to run for office in the first place?

 

[Vuzzmop]

Probably just rumours. In all likelyhood Obama is going to do wonders for the US's image, which needs a little boosting these days. I severely doubt he has more to hide than the average politician, not that I think he's a saint. Its still politics, after all.

 

[ffxfriek]

Its reasonable to ask for it and for him to show it to us. He has nothing to hide from us doesn't he??

 

[Rankao]

I didn't vote for him and if he wasn't a natural born president he wouldn't be able to become president.

but the fact is that I'm pretty sure his mother is in fact American and if he was born to her on U.S. grounds then he is in fact a Born U.S. Citizen.

Anyways there nothing anyone can do about it till January 20th. Until a Constitutional crime has been committed no one can trail him or anything life that.

 

[Najos]

Fair enough. What troubles me is: why wasn't this information required to ensure a potential candidate's legitimacy to run for office in the first place?

It actually freaks me out a little. I mean, I had to have a background check just to bartend on an Airforce base. When I was doing some work for the Army (active duty) they actually had to check me out one generation back. I mean, they knew everything about me. It freaks me out to think the President didn't have to provide proof that he was born here.

Probably just rumours. In all likelyhood Obama is going to do wonders for the US's image, which needs a little boosting these days. I severely doubt he has more to hide than the average politician, not that I think he's a saint. Its still politics, after all.

I'm sure he'll do just as well as anyone else. I don't really care who the President it, I didn't even vote. But it blows my mind to think that he'd refuse to release a vault birth certificate. I just can't think of a reason for it.

 

[Syndef]

Imagine what would happen if he wasn't a natural born citizen? Would they cancel his president-elect status? Oh man...the riots and fires that would ensue...

 

[Najos]

Imagine what would happen if he wasn't a natural born citizen? Would they cancel his president-elect status? Oh man...the riots and fires that would ensue...

Would that make McCain President? Would they...have another election? I don't even know how it works.

 

[Syndef]

Imagine what would happen if he wasn't a natural born citizen? Would they cancel his president-elect status? Oh man...the riots and fires that would ensue...

Would that make McCain President? Would they...have another election? I don't even know how it works.

Maybe not. The procedure is that if the president can't function, you go down the chain of command until you find someone that can. That means Joe Biden.

 

[Alex_P]

It actually freaks me out a little. I mean, I had to have a background check just to bartend on an Airforce base. When I was doing some work for the Army (active duty) they actually had to check me out one generation back. I mean, they knew everything about me. It freaks me out to think the President didn't have to provide proof that he was born here.

Would you want the investigator showing all of the background information she collected about you to random strangers without a need to know, though?

-- Alex

 

[blindraven]

*sigh* So this is rumor is still spreading around eh? Well to be frank, it should be rather dead by now, but sadly nobody hit this thing with fire once downed, and it keeps coming back.

Quite frankly, if all the standard checks done on any elected senator in the US didn't catch this before, it needs to stop. Even then, he doesn't have to release his birth certificate to the public, but to still prove it he did release his certificate of live birth, which as shown in Cheeze_Pavilion's link, Hawaii confirmed as an original, and I have no idea how you couldn't be a natural born citizen while also being born within our borders... and to those that want to see it themselves? here it is.

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn227/Polarik/BO_Birth_Certificate.jpg

source: http://snopes.com/politics/obama/citizen.asp

also check out the source, snopes is a highly reliable place for getting as accurate as anyone can get with all the rumors and stuff out there.

 

[crimsondynamics]

It actually freaks me out a little. I mean, I had to have a background check just to bartend on an Airforce base. When I was doing some work for the Army (active duty) they actually had to check me out one generation back. I mean, they knew everything about me. It freaks me out to think the President didn't have to provide proof that he was born here.

I'm sure he'll do just as well as anyone else. I don't really care who the President it, I didn't even vote. But it blows my mind to think that he'd refuse to release a vault birth certificate. I just can't think of a reason for it.

Background checks are standard in many trades, professions and industries. Forget about background checks - what about urine samples? You get that in the US.

In many countries, there are background checks for elementary school teacher posts because of obvious pedophile implications. Many countries also disallow convicts (including rehabilitated ones) from ever joining the bar or civil service.

I simply cannot fathom how on earth can a candidate win the elections to the presidency of the USA without the Democratic party and the election committee doing their due diligence. For that matter, I might as well run for president of the USA four years from now!

I call horse tripe on what appears to be a smear campaign - if anything I think it may be due to moral majority citizens (tremendously) upset that a "black man" is leading the world's largest economy.

I must admit though, that president-elect Obama's refusal to provide his birth certificate is puzzling. If anything though, I would attribute this to perhaps a slight paranoia on his part in providing any shred of doubt that could be used by the media to blow this whole situation way out of proportion, potentially jeopardizing his legitimacy as president-elect.

To clarify: I do believe Obama was elected in full accordance to the law, but let's face it: he is the first black president of the USA - I can also understand why he would be a bit paranoid about this whole situation.

Imagine what would happen if he wasn't a natural born citizen? Would they cancel his president-elect status? Oh man...the riots and fires that would ensue...

Would that make McCain President? Would they...have another election? I don't even know how it works.

Maybe not. The procedure is that if the president can't function, you go down the chain of command until you find someone that can. That means Joe Biden.

Not necessarily. I would argue that technically, if Obama was never eligible to run for president in the first place, then he shouldn't have won at all, meaning Biden wouldn't be the vice-president either.

Perhaps there is no precedence for such a case in US history, nor any standard legal course of action to follow, but I still stand by my point that it would be inconceivable that everyone involved in perhaps the most important elections in the world would have overlooked such an important criteria?

 

[bkd69]

OK, the article mentions this:

"Under our Constitution, no one is eligible to assume the Office of the President unless he or she is a 'natural born citizen,'" said Bob Schulz, Chairman of the Foundation. "To date, Mr. Obama has refused all requests to release his original birth certificate or other documents that would definitively establish his citizenship status and thus his constitutional eligibility."

Fair enough. What troubles me is: why wasn't this information required to ensure a potential candidate's legitimacy to run for office in the first place?

But did his office actually refuse? Or did their letters get dropped into the Secret Service's 'Nutjobs to watch, Class D' file with no further comment?

I'm inclined to beleive the latter.

 

[Najos]

To be fair, he released a birth certificate forever ago, but it was a scan of a copy or something. What they're asking for is the original to be released, thus removing any doubt. Apparently a lot of people were saying it was photochopped or whatever. I dunno, it all seems like crazy talk the more I read.

Then again, nothing wrong with being sure, right? Guess the Supreme Court will decide.

 

[crimsondynamics]

OK, the article mentions this:

"Under our Constitution, no one is eligible to assume the Office of the President unless he or she is a 'natural born citizen,'" said Bob Schulz, Chairman of the Foundation. "To date, Mr. Obama has refused all requests to release his original birth certificate or other documents that would definitively establish his citizenship status and thus his constitutional eligibility."

Fair enough. What troubles me is: why wasn't this information required to ensure a potential candidate's legitimacy to run for office in the first place?

But did his office actually refuse? Or did their letters get dropped into the Secret Service's 'Nutjobs to watch, Class D' file with no further comment?

I'm inclined to beleive the latter.

Again, I believe Obama is as legitimate a president as they come. There is no way short of hell freezing over that such a basic eligibility criteria is overlooked. This is the US presidential elections we are talking about, not the school council!

I don't think anyone is or had withheld any information. I blame - and I may get flak for this but here it goes - racist moral majority elements that are still offended by a "black man" becoming president of the USA and are trying to shore up the media to take a side on this issue, and blow it way out of proportion.

Love your avatar, by the way. Can't wait for Patapon 2!

 

[hypothetical fact]

To be fair, he released a birth certificate forever ago, but it was a scan of a copy or something. What they're asking for is the original to be released, thus removing any doubt. Apparently a lot of people were saying it was photochopped or whatever. I dunno, it all seems like crazy talk the more I read.

Then again, nothing wrong with being sure, right? Guess the Supreme Court will decide.

They will still claim it to be a fake anyway, hooray for conspiracy theories.

 

[SimuLord]

The Supreme Court, if it has an ounce of decency, will refuse to hear the challenge, not wishing to dignify it with a response. Then again, the right wing's no worse than all those crazy leftists who tried to invalidate the vote counts in Florida and Ohio in 2000/04 respectively. (then again, in Florida they had a legitimate beef.)

 

[Eiseman]

They will still claim it to be a fake anyway, hooray for conspiracy theories.

Indeed, and I bet that's why Obama's refusing. He doesn't want to pander to these idiots, I would think.

 

[Pseudonym2]

The reason many this rumor started is because his grandmother said he was born in Kenya, not America. She had Alzheimer's.

 

[BlueMage]

Question: The Constitutional issue aside .... would it matter exceptionally if Obama wasn't a US-born citizen? The thing I've noticed about a lot of non-Australian-born citizens here is that they tend to have a far greater love of their adopted country than their home country.