poll- a foriegn born president?

would you like foriegn born citizens to be allowed to run for president?

  • yes

    Votes: 12 9.4%

  • no,never!

    Votes: 115 90.6%
  • Total voters
    127
I have to agree with the majority on this. If you are going to run for the presidency you should be born of this country, not elsewere. Even if a person is a naturalized American there is always a possibility of having strong ties or loyalties to one's original home country. I don't mind Arnold being the governor of California, he can't be worse than an ex wrestler, but I don't think he should be able to run for president. I just don't think it would be a good idea.
 
Handy, I almost always agree wtih you, not this time. I don't think the selection criteria are all that stringent to be President, in terms of there being only a few who "qualify." I'm sure there are several tens of thousands of people who would pass muster.
Best closer, best lead off hitter, best base stealer...THOSE are the types of jobs for which only one or few qualify...but certainly NOT the presidency.
 
I'm going to toss this in, as well...

Everyone seems to be worried about a foreign-born President giving away the store, lock stock and barrel, to his nation of origin, right? (And assuming that the built-in system of checks and balances of power has completely broken down, I guess.)

Is anyone worried, nay, terrified, that you can become a US Senator after being a citizen for only NINE years?

How about a US Rep? You only need to be a citizen for SEVEN years...
 
If we can set aside Arnold for a moment, the issue concerns many thousands of NATIVE BORN AMERICANS that could not be PRESIDENT, as the current law reads, because they were born abroad of U.S. parents and their birth certificate was issued by some US consulate overseas. Add to those many thousands, all those born in the US Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Panama Canal Zone, Wake Island, Guam , etc, plus all the millions in Alaska and Hawaii. Yes , the constitution stipulates that President must be born in the continental USA. Alaska and Hawaii did not exist. By the way all of the above could be VICE PRESIDENT because the Constitution did not address that office. Sooner or later the issue will come forth.
 
Not so.

The Constitution stipulates that the President has to be a natural born citizen, not that he needs to have been born on the territory of the continental United States.
 
Nitsa,
You are wrong, recheck your facts. I can see your confusion though since I thought that someone had to be born on U.S. soil be it an embassy or a military base. I lost a bet on that. It was a few months ago and I was proven wrong by my own research. Not only can you be born out of the country but you can also be born out of the country to just one parent who has citizenship. You can evevn be born to someone who is a citizen of a U.S. territorial commonwealth that is not a taxpaying citizen and still qualify.
 
Nitsa - I hardly know where to begin...
nitsa said:
as the current law reads, because they were born abroad of U.S. parents and their birth certificate was issued by some US consulate overseas.
Click to expand...
Per the Constitution
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.
Click to expand...
If a person is born of U.S. Citizens, said person is also a natural born Citizen. Likewise, the child of illegal immigrants born in the U.S. is a natural born Citizen.

nitsa said:
the constitution stipulates that President must be born in the continental USA
Click to expand...
The word "continental" does not occur in the Constitution of the United States of America.
 
How much more danger is there with foreign-born presidents than with bought presidents?

Some of the concerns raised are important, but what's the solution? Forbid anyone from being president if they have family living abroad? If they've ever been paid by a foreign national or corporation? How far do you want it to go? Forbid people from being president if English is not their first language? If their parents sent their paychecks to family in a foreign country?

"The President of the United States shall be a third- or higher-generation American citizen with no 1/8 blood or closer relatives living abroad, who owns at least 100 acres here and owns none abroad, celebrates the Fourth of July with high explosives, owns at least 20 complete centerfire firearms, has read and can pass a comprehensive factual exam on the U.S. Constitution, has received no income from foreign sources, and has read classics including Thucydides's and Herodotus's histories, Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (certain abridged editions may be acceptable), Holmes Jr's The Common Law, and Tocqueville's Democracy in America."
:rolleyes:
 
How much more danger is there with foreign-born presidents than with bought presidents?

Some of the concerns raised are important, but what's the solution? Forbid anyone from being president if they have family living abroad? If they've ever been paid by a foreign national or corporation? How far do you want it to go? Forbid people from being president if English is not their first language? If their parents sent their paychecks to family in a foreign country?

"The President of the United States shall be a third- or higher-generation American citizen with no 1/8 blood or closer relatives living abroad, who owns at least 100 acres here and owns none abroad, celebrates the Fourth of July with high explosives, owns at least 20 complete centerfire firearms, has read and can pass a comprehensive factual exam on the U.S. Constitution, has received no income from foreign sources, and has read classics including Thucydides's and Herodotus's histories, Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (certain abridged editions may be acceptable), Holmes Jr's The Common Law, and Tocqueville's Democracy in America."
Click to expand...

how about just sticking with what the constitution says and no more?
 
"how about just sticking with what the constitution says and no more?"

I think that is wise. That portion of the Constitution was put into place a long time ago, after careful consideration, for just this sort of thing. I see no reason to change it.
 
""The President of the United States shall be a third- or higher-generation American citizen with no 1/8 blood or closer relatives living abroad, who owns at least 100 acres here and owns none abroad, celebrates the Fourth of July with high explosives, owns at least 20 complete centerfire firearms, has read and can pass a comprehensive factual exam on the U.S. Constitution, has received no income from foreign sources, and has read classics including Thucydides's and Herodotus's histories, Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (certain abridged editions may be acceptable), Holmes Jr's The Common Law, and Tocqueville's Democracy in America.""

Crap.

I'm eligible!
 
You are correct. No way we adopt the Constitution for a foreign president.
The Constitutioon is sacred.

Just as this picture prove:

s_constitutional.jpg
 
I'd vote for Oleg for Senator though!

Volk! Volk! Volk! Volk! Volk! Volk! Volk!

Seriously, There's nothing wrong with the Constitution now except for maybe the income tax. I really don't mind anybody being a Senator. The presidency as Bill Clinton proved can be a disaster in the hands of a Native-born Americans. The Chi Coms sure enjoyed him helping out with their missile program. He put them 20 years ahead of where they'd be without him.

Nope, no naturalized citizens. If your parents were on Vacation in Italy and you happened to be born in Rome of American Citizens, too bad for you.
 
kjm -- IIRC, a person born overseas to american citizen parents is just as much an american citizen as someone who is born in the US. It is an either/or thing: born in US or born of US citizen parents.
 
America is a nation of immigrants. And like it or not, the demographics of the country are changing very rapidly.

Majority of the new immigrants are firecely American in their core values.

This law is very outdated, and it fact should be changed. But I do not think Arnie is the man who will be king....
 
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