There they go again..

by Saul Bloodworth

I just read that there is a legal challenge to Obama's citizenship and I can't believe this nonsense is still going on. To be President, you have to be born an American citizen, not born within the borders of the USA. So says the Constitution. If one of your parents is an American, you're an American, end of story.

Otherwise, Obama (and the same goes for McCain) would not only be not an American, he would be an illegal immigrant. You don't become an American by simply spending time in the country. If you are not natural born, you need to apply for a Green Card and eventually for citizenship.

So, there is some red tape involved. Citizenship does not rub off. Since neither Obama nor McCain ever applied for a Green Card (unless I am deeply mistaken) and never took advantage of an amnesty (which involves, I believe, also applying for a Green Card) they are both either Americans or illegal foreigners. There is no third way.

And, coming to think of it, I have never heard of a child of an American born during a vacation overseas that needed to apply for a Green Card. That would be quite difficult, by the way. Imagine, you're on vacation in Paris and your give birth in a French hospital. If that child were not an American but French, you could not even take it back home because you can't take a French citizen out of the country without consent.

To be clear: The Amendment in the Constitution that declares someone an American if he/she is born here does not work the other way round, the same way it does not become dark if you cover your eyes with your hands. And it was not introduced to make immigration easier (at this time, every white person who made it to the shore was granted citizenship or sent back). It was introduced to give citizenship to black people born in the U.S. (albeit not to Native Americans born in Territories).

So, knock it off!