A lot of right-wingers like to think that conspiracy nuts exist only on the left. I myself have dipped my toe in tinfoil-hat land once or twice, so it very easy for me to see how a person can get swept away by the conspiracy tide. But the current far-right conspiracy theory: that Barack Obama is not a "natural born citizen" and is therefore ineligible for the Presidency.
Obama was born in Hawaii to a mother who was an American Citizen herself. That ought to be enough right there to prove Obama's citizenship, official birth certificate in evidence or not. But the conspiracy theory says that Obama was born in Kenya, not Hawaii. Of course, still having been born of a citizen, Obama is a citizen himself. But is he "natural born?" I'd assume that if Mrs. Obama had a child in Kenya, that it was probably natural childbirth, but that's not what they're talking about.
They're talking about a line from the Constitution, one that the founding fathers never adequately defined. It's that fuzziness about the word "natural" that has given these wingnuts the idea that Obama doesn't meet the requirement. Why they think he was born in Kenya with--as far as I can see--no evidence, just shows how nutty they are. And when their own candidate, John McCain, was born in Panama, they're really treading on thin ice.
[Excerpt]
Obama challenge rejected
Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner will not have to prove that Barack Obama was born in the United States or take his name off the ballot, a Warren County magistrate decided this morning. . .
Read more at: Cincinnati.com
