February 29, 2008
Natural Born Presidents
Hillary Clinton was born in Chicago, Illinois.
Barack Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Mike Huckabee was born in Hope, Arkansas. (Oddly, the same place where Bill Clinton was born nine years earlier.)
John McCain was born in Coco Solo, in the Panama Canal Zone, Panama.
Article II, section 1 of the United States Constitution requires that “[n]o 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.”
Is a person born outside of the fifty states, in a United States military installation within a foreign country, a natural born citizen?
This article reports on the issue, concluding that most likely a birth in a military installation makes the child a natural born citizen. Notably, Theodore Olson is in the process of preparing a legal analysis for Senator McCain. The issue is one that surely fascinates academics, but realistically, I do not know how such a case would move forward. Someone would have to have standing to sue McCain. Who would that be? Any citizen? It would probably be politically risky for his opponent to bring the case. It would make a case for the case books, though!
February 5, 2008
Super Mardi Gras
Just in time for Super Tuesday and Mardi Gras, the Federalist Society released a print debate on judicial philosophies of the current presidential candidates here. So far, only two Republicans (McCain and Romney) have participated.
(UPDATE: Huckabee and Paul have submitted responses too.)
I hope everyone out there can enjoy a paczki while watching the delegate count tonight. Indulging in paczki is a great annual treat, but why not invest in a paczki bobblehead to enjoy all year round? Available in three different scents. (Anybody else rather frightened by the fuzzy smelly paczki toys?)
January 24, 2008
A Thought for Thursday
With the limited time I have this evening, I just thought I would share a link to this article by Gerald Bradley endorsing John McCain and highlighting his pro-life credentials. I have not figured out which candidate to support yet (none of them have convinced me yet, and McCain’s lack of executive experience concerns me), but this is the best reasoning I have found for McCain to date. Keep reading until the last bit of the article for an interesting story about Mother Teresa and McCain’s wife.
January 2, 2008
Eyes on Iowa
Iowa draws the attention of the politically curious in our nation this week with its caucus on Thursday. Only in recent years, after departing the ivory tower and discovering the import and excitement of Article III judges, have I become aware of or interested in the process. I admit I do not know much about the political machinery that gets the general election going, in fact I just learned that the democrats and republicans have different methods for the Iowa caucus. Unlike primary elections, a caucus requires voters to show up simultaneously. The democrats’ version seems much more fun, since supporters of a candidate receiving less than fifteen percent of the vote are disbursed to choose another candidate. The fun part is that this takes place physically: each candidate is assigned a section of the room and supporters go to that spot. If there are too few in any candidate’s area (less than fifteen percent) those supporters move to another candidate. Although probably not as exciting in real life, it evokes memories of that game in roller rinks, in which you had to skate to a numbered circle when the music stopped, then hope your circle number was not the one called to be eliminated! (Does anyone else remember that game? I spent a lot of Saturday afternoons in roller rinks.)
Wikipedia’s article on the process is here and Iowa’s own site (a bit more interesting) is here. (Just learned on that page that “caucus” is from an Algonquin word for a gathering of tribal leaders.) A good site for analysis is here at Real Clear Politics. So far, I do not even know whom to root for or against in the election on either side. Good luck, Iowa voters! Choose wisely!
The Write Bailiwick 