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01-10-2005, 06:48 AM
http://www.wzzm13.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=35222
White House out of reach
By Chris Andrews - Lansing State Journal
Not all Americans are equal - path to presidency blocked for naturalized
citizens
Ehsan Alizada is eager to pursue the American Dream.
The 17-year-old East Lansing High School junior, who emigrated from Afghanistan
three years ago, is thinking about a career with the FBI. And he might get
involved in politics one day.
The sky's the limit in America - well, not quite. He never can be president
unless the U.S. Constitution is changed to allow immigrants to run.
There's growing talk about that happening, spurred by the recent election of
two governors also banned from the nation's highest office: Republican Arnold
Schwarze-negger of California and Michigan's Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm
are rising stars within their parties.
Granholm supports an amendment to create equal opportunity for the presidency
but says she's not interested in the job and believes there's no chance one
will be adopted. But Schwarzenegger has said he'd like to run for president,
and his backers have launched the Web site AmendforArnold.com and are running
cable TV ads in California to promote the change.
"It would be good if we had the right to become president," Alizada said,
noting there could be times when an immigrant has perspectives or skills that
are especially valuable for a president.
Tough passage
The odds of any amendment passing are long. The U.S. Constitution has been
changed only 17 times since 1791, the last in 1992.
Efforts to allow immigrants to seek the presidency have sprouted up numerous
times throughout the course of American history. Opponents express concern that
a naturalized citizen might have divided loyalties.
"Your allegiance is driven by your birth," Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.,
said at a judiciary hearing last fall.
But Schwarzenegger - who grew up in Austria - has given the issue more
attention than any time since the 1970s, when German-born Secretary of State
Henry Kissinger was a hot political commodity. And Canadian-born Granholm's
stature gives both major political parties a partisan reason to consider it.
Schwarzenegger became a U.S. citizen in 1983. Granholm moved with her parents
to the United States at age 4 and became a citizen in 1980.
Millions affected
While attention has centered on two politicians, the restriction creates a
political ceiling for 12.8 million naturalized citizens. Every year, 500,000
immigrants become naturalized, including 25,000 adopted children, according to
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. It's a topic that comes up at
meetings of adoptive parents in East Lansing and on Web sites nationwide.
For David and Regula Arnosti of Lansing, the restriction means their two
biological children can someday become president, but their adopted daughter,
5-year-old Carina, can't because she was born in China. The couple adopted
Carina at 6 months, and she became a U.S. citizen when she was 15 months old.
"She's already as American as everybody else," her mother said. "She can recite
the Pledge of Allegiance; she's learning a lot about the Pilgrims, and can tell
me more about Kwanzaa and Hanukkah than I know."
But most Americans don't like the idea of putting a foreign-born citizen in the
White House. In a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll taken Nov. 19-21, 67 percent
opposed it; 31 percent were in favor.
Congressional movement
Several members of Congress have proposed constitutional amendments that would
allow a foreign-born citizen to be president. Passage would require approval by
two-thirds majorities in both houses of Congress followed by ratification by
three-quarters of the states.
U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch, a Republican from Utah and former chairman of the Senate
Judiciary Committee, proposed allowing an immigrant who has been naturalized
for 20 years to run for president or vice president. Hatch's committee held a
hearing on the amendment in October but took no action. He hasn't decided
whether he'll reintroduce it in the new session that began last week, spokesman
Adam Elggren said.
U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., is pushing a similar measure in the
House. The House also may consider a bipartisan proposal that would impose a
35-year citizenship requirement. That would keep Granholm out of White House
consideration until the 2016 election when she would be 57, Schwarzenegger
until 2020 when he would be 73.
MSU political science professor David Rohde said it's always difficult to
change the Constitution because of the requirements. But he said there is
clearly some sentiment for change.
"A lot of people can't see any particular reason this should be in place, but
others argue that ... if somebody is born somewhere else, they're going to have
divided loyalties," he said.
But presidential historian Gleaves Whitney pointed out the 2008 election
creates a rare window - the first time since 1952 when neither a sitting vice
president or president is likely to run.
"It is interesting how California politics anticipates what will happen more
broadly," said Whitney, director of the Hauenstein Center for Presidential
Studies at Grand Valley State University. "I can't help but think if Arnold is
successful and is in the limelight, he will be the hero of a lot of people who
will want to put him out there."
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
White House out of reach
By Chris Andrews - Lansing State Journal
Not all Americans are equal - path to presidency blocked for naturalized
citizens
Ehsan Alizada is eager to pursue the American Dream.
The 17-year-old East Lansing High School junior, who emigrated from Afghanistan
three years ago, is thinking about a career with the FBI. And he might get
involved in politics one day.
The sky's the limit in America - well, not quite. He never can be president
unless the U.S. Constitution is changed to allow immigrants to run.
There's growing talk about that happening, spurred by the recent election of
two governors also banned from the nation's highest office: Republican Arnold
Schwarze-negger of California and Michigan's Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm
are rising stars within their parties.
Granholm supports an amendment to create equal opportunity for the presidency
but says she's not interested in the job and believes there's no chance one
will be adopted. But Schwarzenegger has said he'd like to run for president,
and his backers have launched the Web site AmendforArnold.com and are running
cable TV ads in California to promote the change.
"It would be good if we had the right to become president," Alizada said,
noting there could be times when an immigrant has perspectives or skills that
are especially valuable for a president.
Tough passage
The odds of any amendment passing are long. The U.S. Constitution has been
changed only 17 times since 1791, the last in 1992.
Efforts to allow immigrants to seek the presidency have sprouted up numerous
times throughout the course of American history. Opponents express concern that
a naturalized citizen might have divided loyalties.
"Your allegiance is driven by your birth," Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.,
said at a judiciary hearing last fall.
But Schwarzenegger - who grew up in Austria - has given the issue more
attention than any time since the 1970s, when German-born Secretary of State
Henry Kissinger was a hot political commodity. And Canadian-born Granholm's
stature gives both major political parties a partisan reason to consider it.
Schwarzenegger became a U.S. citizen in 1983. Granholm moved with her parents
to the United States at age 4 and became a citizen in 1980.
Millions affected
While attention has centered on two politicians, the restriction creates a
political ceiling for 12.8 million naturalized citizens. Every year, 500,000
immigrants become naturalized, including 25,000 adopted children, according to
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. It's a topic that comes up at
meetings of adoptive parents in East Lansing and on Web sites nationwide.
For David and Regula Arnosti of Lansing, the restriction means their two
biological children can someday become president, but their adopted daughter,
5-year-old Carina, can't because she was born in China. The couple adopted
Carina at 6 months, and she became a U.S. citizen when she was 15 months old.
"She's already as American as everybody else," her mother said. "She can recite
the Pledge of Allegiance; she's learning a lot about the Pilgrims, and can tell
me more about Kwanzaa and Hanukkah than I know."
But most Americans don't like the idea of putting a foreign-born citizen in the
White House. In a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll taken Nov. 19-21, 67 percent
opposed it; 31 percent were in favor.
Congressional movement
Several members of Congress have proposed constitutional amendments that would
allow a foreign-born citizen to be president. Passage would require approval by
two-thirds majorities in both houses of Congress followed by ratification by
three-quarters of the states.
U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch, a Republican from Utah and former chairman of the Senate
Judiciary Committee, proposed allowing an immigrant who has been naturalized
for 20 years to run for president or vice president. Hatch's committee held a
hearing on the amendment in October but took no action. He hasn't decided
whether he'll reintroduce it in the new session that began last week, spokesman
Adam Elggren said.
U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., is pushing a similar measure in the
House. The House also may consider a bipartisan proposal that would impose a
35-year citizenship requirement. That would keep Granholm out of White House
consideration until the 2016 election when she would be 57, Schwarzenegger
until 2020 when he would be 73.
MSU political science professor David Rohde said it's always difficult to
change the Constitution because of the requirements. But he said there is
clearly some sentiment for change.
"A lot of people can't see any particular reason this should be in place, but
others argue that ... if somebody is born somewhere else, they're going to have
divided loyalties," he said.
But presidential historian Gleaves Whitney pointed out the 2008 election
creates a rare window - the first time since 1952 when neither a sitting vice
president or president is likely to run.
"It is interesting how California politics anticipates what will happen more
broadly," said Whitney, director of the Hauenstein Center for Presidential
Studies at Grand Valley State University. "I can't help but think if Arnold is
successful and is in the limelight, he will be the hero of a lot of people who
will want to put him out there."
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
