thoughtful
monchee? blixie? I forget who, but I know it was someone from Michigan -- posted that Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm should run for President. I suggested at the time that she would have to amend the Constitution first, because Article II states that the President of the United States must be a natural born citizen, and Granholm was born in Canada.Today, Slate published an article advocating the revocation of that clause, and specifically cites Jennifer Granholm as someone who would benefit from the change. So congratulations, unknown poster: you were ahead of the curve!
Apparently, Rep. Barney Frank introduced a Constitutional amendment in 2001 that would allow immigrants who have been citizens of the United States for at least 20 years to become President. (Interestingly, the original co-sponsor of the amendment was Michigan Rep. Peter Hoekstra, who is a native of the Netherlands. I guess he thought it would appear too self-serving if he introduced the amendment himself.) No action was taken on it during the 107th Congress, and Rep. Frank hasn't reintroduced it yet. But it's a good idea. I can't see that the clause serves any useful purpose, and as the article points out, it's awfully hypocritical for a nation founded by immigrants to ban immigrants from serving as President.
