Is Barack Obama really an American?

He was born to an American citizen, which guarantees his citizenship to America. Those who will look for something to find fault with will always find it. Their time would be much better spent bringing change to the world, in my opinion, than seeking to destroy on man.

how right you are ... some people love to send others on wild goose chases knowing fully well that the end result would be naught ...

I'm uncertain myself on that... I've heard he is, I've heard he isn't. I'm not sure what to believe or what to say about this. My grandparents think he's the anti-christ, but we all know that no one knows who the anti-christ is. But me myself, during the campaining, I would have voted for him (if I had been registered to vote).

People are never satisfied with what the parentage of a head of state is, his religon his place of birth and on and on.....!As long as he is working hard for the betterment of the people why pry into these MINUTE and MENIAL things?

A child born to a US citizen, no matter where they are born, is a US citizen. If the birth occurred in a foreign land or if the other parent is not an US citizen then the child could claim dual citizenship. BTW Barack Obama is under the age of 50 which means if he was born in Hawaii he is a citizen anyway since Hawaii became a state in 1959.

Unfortunately, it's not that easy if the birth certificate can't be validated. Here's why:

From 24 December 1952 to 14 November 1986, the American parent had to have spent ten years in residence it the US, five years of which had to have been after the parent's 14th birthday. Since Obama was born when his mother was only 18, he would be ineligible for citizenship, if born outside the US, since she couldn't possibly have met those requirements. If she had been 19, and lived in the US from 14 til 19, he would be a citizen if born outside the US.

From what I've read, the certificate presented by Obama, so far, is indeed a real Hawaiian birth certificate, but not an original record of birth; the certificate he has can be obtained by anyone who brings their child into the state before their first birthday, so realistically, shouldn't be proof of citizenship.

In any case, it's probably a case for the courts, though speculation is certainly interesting and warranted.

knightincrystalarmor,fauzia, sherrill and firesisle - thanks for throwing light on such a controversial subject ... it is a matter for the courts to decide and others can only speculate ...

I would have thought that this issue would have come up and been decided when Obama first ran for political office. It isn't like he came out of the blue to be the President

BTW: I just found this on Biography.com - Obama’s mother, Ann Dunham, grew up in Wichita, Kansas. Her father worked on oil rigs during the Depression.

I think that's correct; the sticking point is that there is no way that a 18-year-old mother can have 5 years of US residency after her 14th birthday, when she gives birth. Clearly, by the law in place when Obama was born, without a valid (which is the question) birth certificate, he's not eligible for automatic US citizenship at birth.

They should probably look for proof of the citizenship of his parents. Between, had he been white, born to christen parents, would it had made a difference? Did anyone ever doubt the citizenship of Clinton or Bush or other former white christian President? eerrrr ... the answer is no, I shall leave the stage with that thought.

There would have been no questions if he had been white or black, and born to parents of any religion, with a) an indisputable live birth certificate that proves he was born in the US, or
b) documented evidence that his mother(the only parent who was a citizen at the time of his birth) had 5 years of US residency after her 14th birthday, or, in other words, was at least 19 years old at his birth.

Clinton, Bush, and every other President who has held office has met the above requirements, so it's not unreasonable that Obama should be held to the same standard.

It's not about race; it's not about religion; it's about law. Making it about anything else is seriously flawed logic...

sherrill - thanks for the updates ... hope those who are airing the controversy read the comments here on allvoices ...

prabirghose,

This is an ongoing problem for the President which he could have resolved easily by presenting the original copy. There are many lawsuits out there and one in particular is getting a lot of attention.
I wrote about this ona recent Allvoices report. Pls see below


http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/3677911-soldier-refuses-to-fight-for-country-until-obama-produces-official-birth-certificate

Absolutely true. Things are still getting started on this one...

Isn't the President supposed to be born on US soil, not just a citizen?

As it is , shouldn't this matter have been cleared up a long time ago? I mean there has to be someone checking to see if he's not an American.

He was in the senate before this too, so there has to be legal documentation. I don't think that's the sort of thing you can just sneak by the establishment so easily.

a) nope... the President is required to be a "natural" citizen, which can also include being born to 1 or 2 parents who are US citizens on foreign soil, but under strict regulations.

b) yep... it should have been cleared up before the elections. Basically, while the regulations are there, the problem is that there is nobody in government who has the specific responsibility of vetting it. Consequently, everybody who has been requested to do so has basically just shined it on. That's why there are so many lawsuits pending, even now... it's far from over believe me...

You do not have to be born on U.S. soil to be president. All you have to be is born a U.S. citizen. If you had to be born on U.S. soil then someone born to military parents stationed abroad would not be eligible and that would be ridiculous. I am sure that as much scrutiny that is put on someone to be president that it was indeed verified that he is a natural born citizen. People are just trying to drum up trouble. I may not like the man and what he is doing, but if someone wants to discrtedit him, use what he is doing and stop making crap up. Th writer of this article is either gullible or uneducated to seriously believe that this country has enough technology to read your driver's license number from space with a satellite but can't figure out if someone is a natural born citizen.

That's part of the problem... the rhetoric I've heard in response to the question, basically starts with the assumption that it's so important that somebody must have done something; unfortunately, somebody didn't, and it's about time somebody did.

There's no area of government with the expressed responsibility for verification of citizenship.

yes redhanded101 - i did see the report .. it just stengthens the belief that as long as there are celebs, there would be confusions ...

Is it really a confusion or someone who doesn't like the man stirring up trouble?

It's a legitimate question until it's been settled to the satisfaction of those how want to know if the President of the United States is a United States citizen. We have a right to know, and Obama has a responsibility to show us more than a birth certificate that any kid under the age of 1, who's parents move to Hawaii, is eligible to receive.

If he wasn't born in the US, by US law, he isn't a citizen.

He can silence all of his critics on this issue very simply and quicky... if the document, in fact, exists.

Personally, I think that if it exists, he would have produced it by now.