John McCain presidential eligibility

The eligibility of John McCain to serve as President of the United States was discussed more during his first campaign and has not been a campaign issue in 2008. Senator John McCain was born in Panama within the then-American-controlled Panama Canal Zone.

Section 1 of Article II of the Constitution contains the clause:

The constitution does not define "natural born Citizen". The term natural born is defined in Blackstone in 1765 as "Natural-born subjects are such as are born within the dominions of the crown of England". The U.S. Supreme Court often quotes Blackstone when discussing the intent of the Framers of the Constitution. A more modern reference is "where only the natural act of one being born in a place determines the status of ones citizenship with no additional stipulations necessary to influence that status". Persons who are born to citizens abroad are commonly referred to as natural born citizens.

The McCain campaign staff has assured the candidate that he is eligible. A federal judge has been asked to rule on McCain's eligibility, and a supporter of Barack Obama has introduced legislation to define McCain as eligible.

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