Eligibility: Why Does it Matter Where They Were Born?

Let me start this possibly controversial topic by saying that right now, because the law states that to be eligible to run for president, one must be a "natural born" American, that if incontrovertible proof ever comes up that Obama was born in Kenya, as he claimed when it was politically advantageous for him to do so, then I firmly believe he should be removed from office. However, I personally don't care where he was born; if he was born and raised in Texas but was still the man he is, with the policies and job performance he has, he'd be just as awful.

But in this post, I'm gonna admit something that might sound weird, coming from a conservative. I don't think being born in the United States should be a factor in whether or not you can run for president.

Think about it. What sense does it really make? After all, the presidency remains the only political office you cannot hold if you were born elsewhere than on American soil. Why? What does that have to do with anything?

Take the case of Ted Cruz. Cruz was born in Calgary, Alberta because his parents were at the time working in the oil industry. As I gather, they moved back to the US when he was still an infant, and he was raised as an American his entire life. Also, because his mother was an American citizen, he was granted American citizenship from birth. But then, his father is from Cuba. Does this mean he's not "natural born", as birthers have accused Obama of not being, even if he was born in Hawaii?

Well, the fact is, this is ridiculous. Assuming Obama was born in Hawaii, and as far as I'm concerned he was, then he should be eligible for the presidency, the same as how John McCain was born in the American Embassy in Panama, which is only American soil because it's been legally declared such.

The difference is, Ted Cruz was raised in America by Americans (well, his mother, anyway) who taught him to love America. John McCain was raised in America by Americans who taught him to love America (and to love compromise, but that's another story). Barack Obama was raised in Kenya and Indonesia by Communists who hated America and taught him to hate it. I don't care where any of them were born; where they were raised, what country they call home and whether or not they show themselves to love their country; that's all that should matter. Obama may be an American by birth, but he sure isn't by loyalty.

Really, all that this law's remaining on the books has done in recent years is to draw up inconsequential and silly arguments about whether or not so-and-so is legally able to run. Be it Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio or Bobby Jindal, the subject of where they were born or where their parents were born keeps coming up whenever their potential presidential aspirations comes up. The problem is, who cares?

Ted Cruz has proven that he loves this country and is an American at heart. So has Bobby Jindal. Marco Rubio is slowly proving that he is a Cuban at heart and doesn't give a rip about America's immigration laws. That is all that should matter.

Now, Cruz isn't my first choice for the GOP presidential nomination in 2016, and to be frank, no one is right now. There are a lot of people I'd love to see in that office, and quite a few others I'm hoping against hope decide not to run or get crushed in early primaries (Chris Christie, for example). But I  hate to think that we're still at a point where we care where the candidates were born.