reply to post by Kailassa
Per your request from Article 2 of the United States Constitution.
Clause 5: Qualifications for office
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.
Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page. (September 2008)
See also: natural-born citizen and President of the United States
By the time of their inauguration, the President and Vice President must be:
natural born citizens (or citizens at the time of the Constitution's adoption)
at least thirty-five years old
inhabitants for at least fourteen years of the United States.
The Twenty-second Amendment also prevents a President from being elected more than twice.
So you want to be president? Forget the nerves of steel, the charisma, the skeleton-free closet, the fund-raising network, the thick skin and the
legions of loyal folks who agree with your stance on all the issues. Just to get into the game, you have to ask: How old are you and where were you
born?
Only native-born U.S. citizens (or those born abroad, but only to parents who were both citizens of the U.S.) may be president of the United States,
though from time to time that requirement is called into question, most recently after Arnold Schwarzenegger, born in Austria, was elected governor of
California, in 2003. The Constitution originally provided a small loophole to this provision: One needn't have been born in the United States but had
to be a citizen at the time the Constitution was adopted. But, since that occurred in 1789, that ship has sailed.
One must also be at least 35 years of age to be president. John F. Kennedy was the youngest person to be elected president; he was 43 years old when
he was inaugurated in 1961. There is no maximum age limit set forth in the Constitution. Ronald Reagan was the oldest president; at the end of his
term in 1988, he was nearly 77.
Finally, one must live in the United States for at least 14 years to be president, in addition to being a natural-born citizen. The Constitution is
vague on this point. For example, it does not make clear whether those 14 years need to be consecutive or what the precise definition of residency is.
So far, however, this requirement has not been challenged.
These are the only explicit criteria in the Constitution.
Now I've also read on this thread that Congress has "Passed Laws" making an exception, as well as Hawaii passing laws to the same effect......do
you not know anything about the U.S. Constitution? NO STATE can circumvent the constitution NONE OF THE 50 STATES HAS THAT AUTHORITY. Furthermore,
Congress cannot pass a law circumventing it either. Congress can however create an amendment to change the U.S. Constitution, but then it would have
to be ratified (use the above example of the 22nd Amendment). PLEASE, next time pay attention to your American Government Class.
And again, I'm not saying he's not an American Citizen, but if he is not the rule of law applies.
