Today, the Supreme Court contemplated something about a petition that includes a claim that Barack Obama was not born in the United States and therefore is unable to assume the office of President — but please note, that does not mean that even in the very small chance that the Supremes take the case, they will be interested in briefing that issue. That didn’t stop a dozen or so people from having a prayer circle to protest Obama’s imminent assumption of the Presidency.
Now, while I think Hillary Clinton is incurably ineligible to be Secretary of State, I also have to accept that this is not something that I, as an ordinary citizen or taxpayer, have standing to challenge. It’s a “political question” and so is the issue of Obama’s citizenship; Congress will “fix” Clinton’s salary and that, according to historical if not necessarily legal precedent, is enough to render her eligible. Ultimately, it is the Senate who has to judge the qualifications of a potential President when counting the votes of the Electoral College.
Although I should point out that if someone has filed a lawsuit against someone else, the plaintiff is the one who carries the burden of proof. The kool-aid drinkers must prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that Obama was not a natural-born citizen. That means more than a failure of a state official to produce an original birth certificate. Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. Carrying the burden of proof in a case like this means someone else must produce an original Kenyan birth certificate — a document that, all indications are, does not exist.
