via mark schmitt's post at tapped i learned that john mccain was born in the panama canal zone.
i thought that would have excluded him from eligibility to be president. i mean, we all know you have to be "born in the u.s." to be president and i didn't think an overseas military base counted. or did the canal zone count as a u.s. territory like guam or puerto rico is today?
so i consulted article II of the constitution to see how the "born in the u.s." clause was worded. to my surprise i found that it just says the president has to be a "natural born citizen." contrary to what i had heard there's nothing about the location where a potential president must be born, he or she just has to be born a citizen. under u.s. law you are a citizen if at least one of your parents is a citizen, no matter where you are born.
so it looks like a person who was born in india to an american mother and a peruvian father, could be president after all.
