I am sick of all of this talk about Barack Obama not being eligible for being president because he was “born in Kenya.” This kind of pathetic gimmick comes from a variety of sources: newspapers, politicians, bloggers and lawyers. If this held any weight of value whatsoever then it would probably have been brought up before the election. Twenty-something candidates from different sides of the aisle and two years of vicious campaigning and this did not once make it to the spotlight. The only time I recall it being mentioned was in a brief article about the backgrounds of the two major candidates and how they ARE eligible to run for president because their parents were Americans, whether or not they were physically born here. That qualifies you as a “natural-born citizen.”
The logic behind this move is pretty much nonexistent. The nuts and conspiracy whackos can preach all they want, but it is not helping their cause. The Republican Party brand has gained a poor reputation over the past eight years and polarizing drama is not going to recover it. Obama presents himself as a uniter (whether he is or not remains to be seen.) The best thing republicans can do at this point is to distance themselves from the current administration and present a public image of bi-partisan law-making and cooperation. Like I said, this whole Kenya thing is desperate and pathetic. And lets pretend for a moment that they succeed and Obama is barred from office – a little trip to conspiracy theorist fantasy land. Since the majority of the Electoral College already voted for him, the election would most likely go to the House of Representatives. The House of Representatives is controlled by the democrats. If the republicans strike down their “hero of hope with change we can believe in” then the House of Representatives will be controlled by angry democrats. What else would they do then but elect whomever they believe is the Republican Party’s worst nightmare? The move makes no logical or political sense whatsoever! It is a…dumb…idea.
Now with that out of the way, I also want to note that I think this is a bad law to begin with. The founders of our great nation were probably right on pretty much everything, but this is an exception. If you’re fifty years old and moved here when you were two, I think you’re an American. I’m not saying this because I have someone in particular (for instance, Arnold like in The Simpsons Movie) in mind. I just think it should be changed in general.
