Regretfully, it appears that Mr. Rubio does not qualify as a “natural born citizen” and hence may not be eligible for the Presidency or Vice Presidency. While he was native born in 1971, his father did not apply to become a naturalized citizen until four years later.
As Leo Donofrio has noted, “In Minor v. Happersett (1874), the Supreme Court said that if you were born in the United States and both of your parents were U.S. citizens at the time of your birth, you are, without doubt, a natural born citizen. In the same case, the Supreme Court also said that, if you were born in the United States and one of your parents was not a U.S. citizen when you were born, your natural born citizenship is in doubt.”
Republican Chester Arthur’s Irish immigrant father was not considered when Arthur was named Garfield’s VP. After Garfield’s assasination, Arthur served as a one-term President, the only one since Revolutionary times to not qualify as “natural born.”
Today, double standards should not be part of a conservative platform.
Neither should birther crackpot mythology.
Rubio is perfectly eligible. Leo Donofrio should stick to playing poker, a pastime he's had far more success at than arguing Constitutional Law.
But obama qualifies, so now Rubio does too. You can’t have a law that applies only to republicans. It either applies to all or to none, and since the law has gone by the wayside because our representatives choose to ignore it, Rubio can now run if he ever chooses to.