The Question of Obama's Citizenship

The Arizona legislature is working on a bill that would require any candidate for the office of President of the United States to document their eligibility for the office.  Whether you believe President Obama is eligible or not, I think it is a good idea to define the eligibility requirements, particularly citizenship, more definitively to avoid future debate on the subject.

The Constitution defines eligibility for the office of president in the following way:

"No 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."

The question of Obama's citizenship centers on whether he meets the requirements set forth in the Constitution.  The meaning of the term "natural born" has become a bit fuzzy through the years.  Some believe that since Obama's mother was a citizen and he was reportedly born in Hawaii, he is natural born.  I have read some rather in-depth commentaries on the actual meaning of natural born and it ranges in interpretation.  Some of the interpretations I have seen are along these lines:

• Must be born in the United States or to a citizen of United States serving in military or foreign service.
• Both parents must have been citizens at the time of birth.
• Both parents must have been citizens, themselves born in the United States.
• I saw some explanation that had a time frame by which the parent had to have been a citizen before birth of the child.

With all of the varying understandings of this term, I believe that this issue should be qualified and quantified in no uncertain terms for future elections.  I also believe that since President is the only office to have a natural born requirement, that any candidate should have to provide definitive documentation to prove their qualification before their name can be placed on the ballot.  This would avoid all this mess in the future.