Article II of the United States Constitution presents the qualifications for the office of the Presidency. I quote in part:
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.
There are questions about the birth place of Barack Obama. His paternal grandmother reportedly claims she witnessed his birth in Kenya, while others, including Obama himself, claim he was born in Hawaii.
If he was born in Kenya then he would not be a natural born citizen (his father was Kenyan and his mother American so U.S. citizenship would not flow to him as a birthright). Needless to say, assuming he is Constitutionally qualified, Obama could clear up the controversy by simply submitting his birth certificate as John McCain did (McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone to a military family).
However, to this day, Obama has not submitted his birth certificate or any records proving his citizenship. He refuses to release any college records as well that would state his citizenship. That has prompted at least one lawsuit to prove he is Constitutionally eligible to be President. The video below (10 minutes 52 seconds) is the story of one such lawsuit from a life-long Democrat and attorney in Pennsylvania.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWTs1YyhFRg[/youtube]
Barack Obama’s refusal to show that he meets the basic Constitutional requirements for holding the office of the Presidency troubles me. It is a legitimate Constitutional question that should be asked of every candidate.
John McCain’s birth has been analyzed at length by the mainstream media and bloggers (see here and here for examples). Why does the mainstream media not show the same interest in Barack Obama’s place of birth?
For Obama to withhold evidence of his Constitutional qualifications for the Presidency suggests he is hiding something. That makes him look very suspicious to the scores of millions who feel the Constitution matters. Furthermore, his refusal fans doubt regarding his eligible and provides ammunition to those who say he is trying to hide actual Kenyan or Indonesian citizenship.
To be completely honest, I find both his withholding of documents and the growing questions of ineligibility very disturbing. I join with those who demand that Barack Obama produce his legal birth certificate and evidence that he is Constitutionally eligible to be President. Just release the records!
There’s a new WorldNetDaily article today at http://worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=78931 that provides additional details about this lawsuit.
In an effort for full disclosure, I should note one more thing I learned today. It seems that Philip J. Berg likes to sue people in government. He reportedly — http://screwloosechange.blogspot.com/2007/01/philip-j-berg-nutbar-supreme.html — filed a RICO lawsuit against Bush and others for the events of 9/11 and again in 2004 sued Bush on behalf of Willie Rodriguez. In 2001 he apparently called for Supreme Court Justices Thomas, Scalia and O’Connor to voluntarily disbar themselves for their decision in Bush v. Gore. While it’s true he may be a nutcase, he obviously doesn’t seem to be singling Barack Obama out for unusual treatment.