Posted on: Wednesday, March 3, 2004

EDITORIAL
Why not let foreign born run for president?

We recently argued in this space against a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would effectively ban gay marriage.

Our argument was twofold: First, that it is wrong to embed discriminatory concepts into the Constitution and, second, that it is dangerous to tamper with the Constitution over contemporary political disputes.

That said, there is another proposed constitutional amendment that bears — at a minimum — serious discussion. This is the proposal that would let foreign-born Americans run for president if they have been citizens for at least 20 years.

It seems quite obvious that this proposal is designed to help Austrian-born California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has been a U.S. citizen for a little more than 20 years.

Schwarzenegger aside, the principle is worth considering. The requirement that a candidate for president be natural born was written 200 years ago, when the framers feared that monarchists would take over the new government if given a chance.

America has changed since then. We are a nation of immigrants. We pride ourselves on our inclusiveness, yet we maintain a symbolic barrier against full participation in the American dream: the presidency.