Foreign-born President

[minionofmidas]

It's highly unlikely to happen, it's just too much hassle to change the constitution. Certainly it's not going to happen while one major party has a credible foreign-born contender, the other party would be hell-bent to prevent it.
I guess Arnold would probably win, not that I like the prospect.
Of course no civilized nation would ever ban foreign-born citizens from political office, the only places where I know of such a rule are the US and Cote d'Ivoire, where it was introduced to keep the most popular candidate, Alassane, I've forgotten the surname, from running. (He was born in Burkina Faso.)

[minionofmidas]

It's highly unlikely to happen, it's just too much hassle to change the constitution. Certainly it's not going to happen while one major party has a credible foreign-born contender, the other party would be hell-bent to prevent it.
I guess Arnold would probably win, not that I like the prospect.
Of course no civilized nation would ever ban foreign-born citizens from political office, the only places where I know of such a rule are the US and Cote d'Ivoire, where it was introduced to keep the most popular candidate, Alassane, I've forgotten the surname, from running. (He was born in Burkina Faso.)

In Finland we also have such a rule. President of Finland should be native Finnish.

Alright, I guess there's a number more. I just don't know of any other examples. Certainly there's no such rule in either Germany or India.

[minionofmidas]

I believe this is completely antiquated and is exactly the type of thing that is worthy of amending the constitution over.  When this country was formed, it was a completely different world and the issue made sense.  I think that it is a real shame that kids from Korea or China or wherever who are adopted as babies into familes of US citizens and know no other world besides the United States cannot be president because they were born elsewhere.  Let us not forget that the president has to be elected so the concern over allegiances is pretty remote, given that they have to win an electoral victory anyway.  Obviously, there would need to be SOME guidelines, with respect to citizenship, etc., but in theory I'm all for foreign born Presidents.

All those arguments were entirely valid back then.
In fact, the Constitution says that those who immigrated before its adoption are eligible as Presidents.

Seems to me the Founding Fathers seriously undervalued the longevity of the document they drew up...and the difficulties in changing it.

[minionofmidas]

The only qualification to run for office should be ability to vote for said office.

and living there.

That would ban everybody not from DC or its immediate suburbs from reelection to the United States Congress. Or else you meant "be registered to vote there", "own an address there" - which doesn't really make any sense at all. (Though America has made a shibboleth of it.)