Here’s an elaboration of the argument:
http://muddythoughts.blogspot.com/2008/02/panmanchurian-candidate-mccain.html
Executive Summary:
1. The 14th Amendment and matching regulations limit citizenship to natural born and naturalized.
2. John McCain was born in 1936 in the Canal Zone to citizen parents.
3. 8 USC 1403(a) declares naturalized citizenship in 1952 on persons born in the Canal Zone to citizen parents.
4. Therefore 8 USC 1403(a) applies to John McCain at age 16.
5. Therefore John McCain is a naturalized citizen.
6. The Canal Zone was not part of the United States.
7. Therefore John McCain was not born in the United States.
8. Therefore John McCain is a citizen not born in the United States.
9. Therefore John McCain is not a natural born citizen.
10. Article II of the Constitution states to be President a person must be a natural born citizen.
11. THEREFORE John McCain is not eligible to be President of the United States under Article II of the Constitution.
12. THEREFORE John McCain should be disqualified from running for President and should be decertified and removed from all present and future Presidential ballots, and his past results should be disallowed.
NOTE: That’s a cut-and-paste from the URL cited above. It is NOT my argument.
Fatal flaw, that section is not applicable to McCain, 1401 is.
No, 8 USC 1403 says:
Any person born in the Canal Zone on or after February 26, 1904, and whether before or after the effective date of this chapter, whose father or mother or both at the time of the birth of such person was or is a citizen of the United States, is declared to be a citizen of the United States.NATURALIZED CITIZEN - One who, being born an alien, has lawfully become a citizen of the United States Under the constitution and laws.
McCain was born being a US citizen, as opposed to being "naturalized" (applying for citizenship and jumping through the hoops)
The flaw in their arguement is 8 US 1401. That defines nationals and citizens of the United States. Section (c) says "a person born outside of the United States and its outlying possessions of parents both of whom are citizens of the United States and one of whom has had a residence in the United States or one of its outlying possessions, prior to the birth of such person" are natural born U.S. citizens.
There are a lot of people who'd disagree with number 6.
Where McCain was born there was a US flag with no other flags flying. Sure, all this changed later but this was the case at the time. There's acreage that was in Texas a few decades ago that's now part of Mexico; same with parts of Alaska that went to Russia. How can someone born in those places suddenly cease to be a "natural born citizen" because of later jurisdictional changes?
At this moment lawyers everywhere are salivating...