The controversy that surrounds the birth certificate of President-elect Barack Obama, as well as his place of birth, has this writer asking her own questions: whose supposed to verify a Presidential candidate is legitimate, a natural born citizen? Is it possible for a candidate to be elected as President, who wasn’t egible to run? If so, and the citizenary discovered the candidate had fraudulently run for President, what safeguards are in place to rectify the situation?

When running for President, Barack Obama, whose father was a citizen of Kenya, and whose mother is a natural born citizen of the United States, submitted an online a copy of what is known as a “Certificate of Live Birth”, or COLB, from the state of Hawaii. COLB’s are issued to parents of a child born either abroad, or outside of a hospital. World Net Daily has focused on the COLB issue with Janet Porter’s, Rathergate II, Certificate of Live Birth a Clear Forgery.

Porter’s piece focuses on analysis of the COLB issued by Hawaii and has cited analysis which purportedly shows the COLB is either a forgery, or has been altered. Porter also claimed that Obama wasn’t issued an American passport until he was a United State Senator, even though he had previously traveled overseas to countries such as Indonesia, Pakistan, and Kenya.

There are currently lawsuits working their way through the U.S. Courts: Leo C. Denofrio of New Jersey is one such case.

In his case, Denofrio has challenged the egibility of three candidates running on the New Jersy ballot for President: Democrat Barack Obama, Republican John McCain, and Socialist Workers Party candidate Roger Calero.

Denofrio sued the New Jersey Secretary of State, who by law, is entrusted with vetting Presidential candidates who are on the New Jersey ballot. While some may consider Denofrio’s suit “frivolous”, the case is scheduled for a conference by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, December 5th. Denofrio’s case also answered one my questions: who is in charge of vetting Presidential candidates?

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Roger Calero, the Socialist Workers Party candidate who ran for President on the New Jersey ballot, Calero was in Nicaragua, is not an American citizen, carries a Green Card, and ran on five different state ballots for President. At no time did the Secretary of State of New Jersey, in charge of elections, verify whether Calero was a “natural born citizen”.

State by State

Even though the office of the President is part of the Federal Government, the Feds don’t have any power to enforce the Constitution’s “natural born citizen” requirement for Presidential candidates. This was news to me, I assumed, that someone, somewhere, in the Federal government was entrusted with verifying a candidate was eligible to run for President. It’s the state governments, and their State Elections Divisions, who are actually the government officials who are responsible for ensuring a candidate, during the election process, is legitimate. When Denofrio contacted the New Jersey Secretary of State Elections Division, what he discovered is quite shocking:

Denofrio contacted the New Jersey Secretary of State Elections Division on Oct. 22 to determine what steps the SOS had taken to determine whether any of the presidential candidates listed on the New Jersey ballots were eligible for the office.

He was informed by Elections Manager Donna Barber the Secretary of State (Nina Mitchell Wells) took no steps to determine eligibility and assumed eligibility based only upon the fact they had been nominated.

However, New Jersey statute requires Wells to make a “statement” wherein she certifies, under her hand and official seal of office, the names … “of all such candidates for whom the voters within such county may be by law entitled to vote at such election.”

Denofrio discovered that the New Jersey Secretary of State, whose official duty is to certify a candidate is eligible to run on the Presidential ballot, had “taken no steps” to verify such eligibility and just “assumed” all candidates were “eligible”.

ThinkQuest.org has listed the Constitutional Requirements of candidates running for President:

“The Constitution requires that a candidate for the presidency must be a “natural-born” citizen of the United States, at least 35 years of age, and a resident of the United States for at least 14 years.”

Since the Consitution was founded before the days of psychology, there’s no requirements that a candidate must past a “psychologically” fit test. Which makes me wonder: what if a candidate hid from voters the fact that he had suffered, or still suffered from, some form of mental illness? It’s up the press to point out whether a candidate has or haven’t, released their medical records, which usually only pertain to the candidate’s physical fitness. Mental health records are a separate issue.

The Obama “natual born” citizen controversy led to this hypothetical: what if a candidate, who wasn’t a “natural born” citizen was elected as President? What if it were proven he wasn’t a natural born citizen and thus broke the law of the Constitution?

The site, World Net Daily, addressed this issue in, Proofin the Prez? Who’s in charge?.

According to Herb Titus, whose credentials include a Harvard Law degree and practice before the Supreme Court as well as founding a law school, if a candidate is elected President, and before he is inaugurated, proven to be “constitutionally” ineligible, such as failing the “natural born citizen clause”, there is nothing in the Constitution which addresses this. The only place to go is straight to the electors and the electoral college:

“It’s only the Electoral College that has the duty and authority to determine is a person is qualified to be president,” Titus said.

Titus goes on to speculate that unless an investigative journalist uncovered the fact that the candidate, or the candidate, himself, revealed he wasn’t a natural born citizen, Titus believes there’s “nothing the courts can do”. Titus also stated the candidate, once he’s sworn in, could possibly be impeached, if it’s discovered he lied, or falsely claimed he was a natural born citizen. The last time a United States President was impeached was Bill Clinton.

Yet others believe cases such as Denofrio’s, if successful in proving Barack Obama is not a natual born citizen, and thus, ineligible, to serve as President, may bring the Supreme Court into play. James H. Hafeman, an expert in Criminal Justice, states the “replacing a President” is outlined in the Consitution, but not a candidate who won the election, prior to being sworn in: the President-Elect.

Back to the Electoral College: if there’s a tie in electoral college votes, then the House of Representatives steps in:

“Members of the House of Representatives from each state would meet in a state-caucus type of meeting and vote with all congressional members from their respective state. The majority of the state’s delegation would only have only one vote. Out of the 50 votes allotted among the House of Representative members, 25 plus a minimum of one vote would be required to elect the president,” he wrote.”

As someone who blithely assumed there was some high-ranking official who vetted Presidential candidates, such as verifying their birth certificate, I’m quite shocked that candidates running for President have more leeway than I do when applying for a driver’s license. Not only did I have to present a certified copy of my birth certificate, but a photo I.D., 4 “proofs” of residence, as well as my Social Security card. If divorced, and presenting a Social Security card with your married name, then you have to show your Marriage License. Running for President? No sweat. Not one single government official will request any of the documents I had to supply just to legally drive a car. Not only does a Presidential candidate get an “automatic” security clearance just by virtue of getting elected, he doesn’t have “apply” for one, never mind that the President has instant access to the “Nuclear Football”.

The Red Phone and Nuclear Button, Tools to the Presidential Trade

The nuclear football hasn’t gotten much play in the press during the post-Cold War era. It’s a stuffed leather “briefcase” that’s always supposed to be in “reach” of the President. It contains the United States classified nuclear war plan that is needed in case of a nuclear attack, plus the authorization to use nuclear weapons. The President also carries in his possession the “codes” needed to order a nuclear attack.

While some may believe a nuclear attack could no longer happen, that we’re an “enlightended global society”, the advent of China’s control over the Panama Canal is just one such example of the potential of nuclear war strikes against the United States.

In 1999, U.S. Admiral Thomas H. Moorer wrote that “America Risks a Nuclear Pearl Harbor”. Moorer pointed out the Panama Canal is not only a vital shipping lane but is also “vital to our defense”. The United States military withdrew from the canal in 1999, ordered by Bill Clinton. The Canal was then taken over by China, who brought in their own troops.

“In 1996 Chinese officials told the New York Times they were quite prepared to use nuclear weapons against American cities like Los Angeles, if we tried to stop their takeover of the democratic nation of Taiwan. Just a few months ago, the official Chinese newspaper warned the U.S. that China was willing to use nuclear bombs against American aircraft carriers, if they interfered in Chinese plans to invade Taiwan.

In fact, with our navy blocked from moving through the Canal and Chinese missiles and jets poised to launch from Panama, China could intimidate the U.S. into surrendering Taiwan, Panama, and God knows what else without a shot being fired. If that didn’t work, they could just lob a few missiles at our cities.”

With China poised at the Panama Canal with nuclear-armed subs, the Cold War has actually entered a new phase, one that our President may eventually have to face. Thanks to our election process, anyone can run for President and supply not even the most basic of identification, in order to prove they are a legitimate citizen. Nor do they have to prove “mental fitness”, no record of whether they suffer from a mental illness.

In summation, it’s harder for me to get a driver’s license, than it is for a candidate to run for President, in regards to proving who I am, and I’m not the guy who will be responsible for pushing or not pushing the nuclear button, unleashing a Pandora’s Box of annihilation.

The Nuclear Football functions as an “while the President’s away” from Washington and the White House Situation Room, a fixed command center. One of the caps the President wears is that of Commander-in-Chief of our military. One of his duties, is to order a nuclear strike. The same guy who never even had to prove he was an American citizen when he ran for President. How sweet is that?

So you see why, at least in my case, there is concern over the fact that there’s a huge gap in our Presidential election system. Secretary of States are supposed to confirm whether a candidate is eligible to run for President, yet, in the case of Barack Obama, not one single Secretary of State has stepped forward and declared they investigated whether Obama is, indeed, a natural born citizen. This is not an indictment of Obama, but of the system. A system that is supposed to have “checks and balances”, a system, that is supposed to verify whether a candidate running for President, is who he says he is, is a natural born citizen, and, perhaps at a later date, is mentally fit. This is not too much to “ask”, after all, each and every day, regular “average Joe’s” such as I, have to pony up proof that we’re citizens, proof such as our certified birth certificates, not online on our campaign site, but before an actual government official.

In the case of the President, the Constitution’s requirements are mininal: a certain age, number of years residing in the country, and a natural born citizen. For employment, many citizens are required to take drug tests. A Presidential candidate doesn’t face this requirement for the highest office in America. Nor does he have to apply for a security clearance, he’s handed one, once he’s elected, before he’s sworn in. The same guy who also gets handed the Nuclear Football once he’s inaugerated and sits down at the desk in the Oval Office.

ALSO at DBKP:
The Obama Birth Certificate Questions

* Obama Birth Certificate Forgery Story Heats up at World Net Daily
* Obama Birth Certificate, Citizenship: SCOTUS Conference Scheduled for Dec 5
* Obama Records: Obama Campaign Still Refuses to Release Medical, Other Records
* Obama Birth Certificate: Ruling in Berg v. Obama Expected In Next Two Days- UPDATED
* Obama Birth Certificate Lawsuit: Obama, DNC Fail to Respond-UPDATED
* Washington Man Files Lawsuit over Obama Citizenship Questions
* Obama College, Medical, Birth Records: Who is Barack Obama?
* Obama Birth Certificate Federal Lawsuit: Video Released On YouTube
* Obama Birth Certificate Federal Lawsuit: Updates, News and Reactions
* Obama Birth Certificate Federal Lawsuit: The Curious Behavior of the Obama Campaign
* Obama, Bill Ayers, and FactCheck.Org: All Have Ties To Annenberg Foundation

By LBG

Image – DMV