Sunday, December 7, 2008

new worries

Yesterday I was listening to NPR, which is my wont, after yoga class and heard on the news quiz a comment about Clarence Thomas, a scurrulous Supreme Court justice, accepting a case challenging Obama's right to be president because he might not be a "native born American." I didn't know how seriously to take this.
I haven't watched the news all that regularly. I used to be a newshound, but after 9-11 and Bush, I couldn't stand to look, frankly, so I stayed away from the news. It became a habit, and now I watch irregularly. Though I listen to the radio news and scan the paper, I don't always get every little story. The implications of this one though are very large, and when I checked it out, I freaked.
To forbid Obama to take the Presidency, when the US teeters on the brink of a depression, is terrible! What would we do? I don't want to think about it. I kept me from sleeping last night though. That's why I don't watch the news!
The Constitution has not defined this crucial term, "Native Born American." Does it mean someone born in the States, no matter his parentage, or someone whose two parents are both citizens or born in the states themselves, or does it mean someone with at least one citizen as a parent? And what if a person like Obama has one citizen parent and one non-citizen and is born abroad? What does that make him?
These are questions that should be resolved, but for this to come up now is not good, especially when our economy is in such a delicate state, and this is bound to worsen it, if Obama is summarily bounced from the office before he even takes it.

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