LOS ANGELES — John McCain has been called an American hero. But is he a natural born citizen? A federal judge in California has been asked to determine whether the Republican presidential candidate, who was born in the Panama Canal Zone in 1936, meets the legal test to qualify for president.
The Constitution requires that only “natural born” citizens hold the presidency, a term on which the Founding Fathers did not elaborate.
McCain has said there is no question about his eligibility, an assessment echoed by former Solicitor General Ted Olson, who is examining the issue for the campaign. It was also researched for his first presidential bid, in 2000. A campaign spokeswoman said the questions are “nonsense.”
A complaint filed March 6 by attorney Andrew Aames in U.S. District Court in Riverside, Calif., argues that a judge should step in because the constitutional language is not precise. The canal zone was a U.S. territory when McCain was born on Aug. 29, 1936. His father was stationed there.
