The American Presidency

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the recommendation to amend the Unites States Constitution in order to to make it possible for foreign-born citizens to become president. The paper contends that some of the most loyal and patriotic citizens of the country are not natural-born citizens, but rather are foreign-born citizens who have worked hard to assimilate. The paper assesses that foreign-born citizens could ostensibly make better presidents than their natural-born counterparts because of their solid affection for the nation.

From the Paper:

"It's no secret that Arnold Schwarzenegger has his Terminator's eyes on the American presidency. The Governor of California recently campaigned with President Bush, and he told 60 Minutes reporter Morley Safer that he would "absolutely" consider running--if he could. Arnold is prevented from even running for the office of Presidency because of Article II, Section 1, Clause 5 of the United States Constitution. The clause reads, "No person except a natural born citizen shall be eligible to the Office of President." However, Arnold Schwarzenegger is proving to be popular enough to warrant serious legal and political discussions about the validity of the constitutional clause. In July of 2003, Republican Senator Orrin Hatch introduced a proposed constitutional amendment into the Senate. Under Hatch's proposal, anyone who has been an American citizen for more than twenty years who is otherwise eligible for the office of Presidency can run and be elected. A similar proposed amendment was also introduced into the House of Representatives, with the provision that anyone who has been a citizen for at least 35 years can run for the highest office in the nation. In addition to these official proposals to amend the United States Constitution, several grassroots movements have sprouted up in favor of amending the Constitution."

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