You have of course seen the birth certificate?
His mother, who was there after all, says he was born on the naval base. Yes the big hospital was built after his birth, but there was at least one doctor assigned to the base, and in those days home births were not all that unusual. Plus the base surely had at least a dispensary. I've been in dispensaries that were better equipped than many small town hospitals. Generally they have few beds available for over night stays, if any.
Then again, it may not matter, McCain's father was "in the service of the country", which Vattel, in Law of Nations, says is considered the same as being born in the country. I believe English common law would lead to the same conclusion. It mainly applied to diplomats in his day, but the explanation is broad enough to cover military stationed outside the country. Both of McCain's parents, unlike Obama's, were US Citizens.
Well, the BC says that he was born in a hospital in Colon, which was not in the Canal Zone.
The case is arguable, but far from certain. And the fact that all those Democrat Senators were so eager to sign on to the bill seems fishy to me. Democrats don’t do favors for their enemies like that unless they have some ulterior motive. McCain frequently reached across the aisle to their side, but I can’t think of any cases where the Dems reached back.
Of course, McCain was a really lousy choice for the GOP to nominate anyway. But that’s another matter.