It is not about "old english law". It is all about our constitution, the expressed intent of our founding fathers, and the subsequent amendments to the constitution.
The current pro obumbler argument, as I understand it, is that he qualifies as a "citizen" because he was born in Hawaii, not because his mother was a citizen.
But...there is a big difference between a "citizen", and a "natural born citizen":
What is a Natural Born Citizen of the U.S.?
Synopsis
by John Greschak
john@greschak.com
| In the essay titled What is a Natural Born Citizen of the United States?, I have put forward an interpretation and definition of the phrase natural born Citizen as it is used in the United States Constitution. To that end, I have used the original manuscript of a letter from John Jay to George Washington, along with a draft for that letter, and two essays written by Jay, to deduce both intent and meaning. I have put forward the following intent of the United States constitutional requirement that the President of the United States be a natural born Citizen of the United States: Intent. The intent of the United States constitutionalI have considered the implications of the fact that Jay wrote (in his letter to Washington) "natural born Citizen" with no hyphen and the word born underlined as shown here: |
| I have examined Merriam-Webster's Dictionary and Noah Webster's An American Dictionary of the English Language (published in 1828) in an attempt to establish the most likely meanings of the words natural, born and Citizen in this context. Here, I believe born means "from birth", natural means "having a normal or usual character" and Citizen means "a person domiciled in the United States, for whom rights, privileges and immunities are set forth in the United States Constitution." I have carefully considered the synonym study for the words regular, normal, typical and natural, which states that these words "mean being of the sort or kind that is expected as usual, ordinary, or average" and "Natural applies to what conforms to a thing's essential nature, function, or mode of being <the natural love of a mother for her child>." From this, I have put forward the following interpretation of the phrase natural born Citizen of the United States: Interpretation. The natural born Citizens of the UnitedOf the factors that have been used in the United States to determine the degree to which one belongs to the United States, I have found the following six factors for which there is a basis in the United States Constitution: Factors employed (explicitly or implicitly) in the United StatesFrom this interpretation and these factors, I have established the following necessary and sufficient conditions for one to be a natural born Citizen of the United States: Necessary and Sufficient Conditions. A given person is aI have put forward the following definition of the phrases Citizen of the United States, native born Citizen of the United States, natural born Citizen of the United States, and naturalized Citizen of the United States: Definition. A Citizen of the United States is a personFinally, I have put forward the idea that this definition be added to the United States Constitution in the form of the following Natural Born Citizen Amendment: Proposed Natural Born Citizen Amendment to the United |
