Asian Week
By: Jean Han, Jun 23, 2008
Tags: National |

source:
AsianWeek Who Wants to be President?

The final of a three-part series on the prospects of an Asian American president
Constitutional eligibility to run for U.S. president is becoming a contentious issue as diversity in politics grows. With a steadily expanding list of foreign-born Americans in prominent offices — a list that includes Asian Americans U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao, New York City Councilman John Liu, Minnesota state Sen. Mee Moua and Army Major General Antonio Taguba— the issue of whether those born outside of the United States are eligible to run for president is a salient one.
Article Two of the U.S. Constitution states that only a “natural-born” citizen of the U.S. can be eligible to become president, but it does not define the term, thus leaving the door to the presidency open — even if just a mere crack — for immigrants. Without a constitutional amendment, the issue of eligibility will always be up for interpretation.
While even the idea of a foreign-born president may seem far-fetched for some, former Washington state Gov. Gary Locke thinks that the first, important step is to prevent the debate of amending the constitution from becoming a backburner issue.“We should be pursuing this right now,” Locke said. “Changing the U.S. Constitution is a lengthy, arduous process.”
Locke points out that shutting out those not born on U.S. soil could potentially limit not just the diversity of candidates, but the quality. “We have so many people who should be eligible,” he said. “There is a growing diversity in our country. We should focus on the best candidates and qualifications. Just because someone came over at a very young age should not be a barrier.”
The idea of a foreign-born president might pose more of an issue sooner than later. Even members of President Bush’s Cabinet who, by job title, are direct in line to succeed him are not constitutionally allowed to do so. Labor Secretary Chao, for example, was born in Taiwan; former Housing Secretary Mel Martinez was born in Cuba.
There are political leaders who think a foreign-born president should be a real possibility for Americans. In 2004, a joint resolution was introduced in Congress by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-California, and Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, proposing a constitutional amendment that enabled naturalized U.S citizens to run for office, as long as they have held their citizenship for at least 20 years.
For those who are foreign-born and serving in Congress, this was a welcome, if as yet unsuccessful, push. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, R-California, is perhaps America’s most well-known foreign-born politician, but there is also Gov. Jennifer Granholm, D-Michigan, who was born in Vancouver, British Columbia (Schwarzenegger has been an outspoken proponent of extending eligibility for foreign-born citizens).
Republican presidential frontrunner John McCain was recently put to the test when his eligibility was questioned. McCain was born in 1936 in the Panama Canal Zone, a U.S. territory at the time.
McCain isn’t the first presidential candidate to run into eligibility problems. In 1964, during the unsuccessful presidential campaign of Barry Goldwater, who was born in Arizona before it became a state, the Supreme Court ruled that “natural-born” included those born in U.S. territories.
The recent ruling on McCain’s eligibility is not likely to end the debate either. But if this time the U.S. territory-born candidate wins, unlike those before him, it could open up more of a debate.
The face of America is changing, but what is agreeably constant is that America is a country of immigrants. Until recently, the face of politics has been slow to show that change. Race and gender have been part of the discussion of this year’s primaries, but the idea of a foreign-born presidential candidate is something that has yet to be a serious issue. The prospect of a foreign-born president is close but still very far away.