U.S. Senate ends McCain citizenship debate

By Michael Sewall
May 2, 2008

Any concern over whether Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., was eligible to run for president was put to rest Wednesday in the U.S. Senate.

The Senate unanimously passed a bipartisan resolution expressing the sense of the Senate that McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee for the presidency, is eligible.In February, The New York Times called into question the legality of McCain’s presidential run, based on whether he is a “natural born citizen” as required by the U.S. Constitution. McCain was born on a U.S. military base in the Panama Canal Zone in 1936 to American citizens.

“McCain’s situation is different from those of the current governors of California and Michigan, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jennifer Granholm, who were born in other countries and were first citizens of those nations, rendering them naturalized Americans ineligible under current interpretations,” the Feb. 28 New York Times article stated. “The conflict that could conceivably ensnare Mr. McCain goes more to the interpretation of ‘natural born’ when weighed against intent and decades of immigration law.”

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., introduced the resolution on April 10, along with Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Tom Coburn, R-Okla.

Both Democratic presidential candidates in the Senate, Sens. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y, also supported the resolution, which ran quickly through the Senate. McCaskill, an Obama supporter, said in a news release she had no doubt of McCain’s eligibility.

“There’s no question in my mind that Sen. McCain is eligible to become president, and I’m proud that my colleagues in the Senate came together on this resolution to help quickly put this debate to rest,” McCaskill said in the release.

McCaskill spokeswoman Maria Speiser said when this issue first arose, McCaskill’s first thought it was "silly."

“Why would we question the eligibility of someone that has served their country?” Speiser said. “(McCaskill) just wanted to do what she could, as a senator, to lay this issue to rest.”

Leahy also expressed the importance of ending debate on the issue.

“This bipartisan resolution erases any doubt that Sen. McCain is eligible for president,” he said in the release. “The Senate was right to quickly pass this measure.”

Coburn said McCain was born while his father was “fulfilling his patriotic duty to his country” and that he was happy to support the resolution.

“Even though they were not standing on American soil, his father’s uniform still proudly displayed the flag of this nation,” Coburn said in the release. “John McCain and his family have a proven record of public service and sacrifice and I am proud to support this bipartisan resolution recognizing the fact that John McCain is a natural born citizen.”

Share on Facebook

More May 2, 2008 Outlook Stories

Most recent Outlook Stories