Could Arnold Schwaraenegger Run for President Now
![handle is hein.journals/fclj6 and id is 337 raw text is: COULD ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER RUN FOR PRESIDENT
NOW?
Elwood Earl Sanders, Jr.*
It is spring 2008 and the Governor of California, Arnold
Schwarzenegger, has announced his candidacy to become President of the
United States of America. A great hue and cry erupts questioning the
eligibility of a person born outside of the United States to seek this office.
On the one hand, many Americans support the idea of an immigrant's
quest to become President.1 On the other hand, some lawmakers and at
2
least one major newspaper are opposed to any such idea. This kind of
opposition was evident when the Hatch Amendment to the United States
Constitution did not pass.3 To counter the opposition, Governor
. Elwood Earl Sanders, Jr., Esq., JD 1983 University of Alabama. Adjunct Assistant
Professor, School of Continuing Studies, University ofRichmond. Professor Sanders is an
associate with the Framme Law Firm in Richmond, Virginia. This article is respectfully
dedicated, with thanks, to two professors of mine at the University of Alabama: Richard
Thigpen and Jerome Hoffman. Any success I have is in some part due to the time each
took on my behalf. I am and will be grateful.
1 That may be a stretch at this time because it was reported that only 31% supported
Hatch's effort. See Martin Kasindorf, Should the Constitution be Amendedfor Arnold?:
Supporters Promote an Amendment to Allow a Foreign-Born President, USA TODAY,
Dec 3, 2004, at Al. The Pittsburgh Post Gazette, on its editorial page, condemned the
idea, writing, the nation hasn't reached the stage at which good, natural-born candidates
are nowhere to be found. Unnatural Act? / Foreign-born Citizen's Don't Need to
Become President, PrITSBURGH POST GAZETTE, Oct. 11, 2004, at A10.
2 Rep. Tom Lantos (D-CA), of Hungarian birth, attacked the amendment idea, stating I
am irrevocably opposed. Our Constitution should only be amended for the most pressing
and substantive reasons. There are 250 million native-born Americans, and there ought to
be enough talent among them to find someone to serve as [P]resident. See Edward
Epstein, Doubt About a Foreign-Born President; Feinstein, Others Cool to Changing
Constitution's Rules, S.F. CHRON., Oct. 6, 2004, at A5. Senator Diane Feinstein also was
skeptical: It may not be a bad thing. It may be a strengthening thing, the California
Democrat commented. Sen. Feinstein further suggested that it allowed immigrants to
become part of the American culture by allowing their children to seek the Presidency. See
Epstein.
3 The amendment proposed by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher,
(R-CA) would allow a naturalized citizen to serve as President if he/she has been
naturalized for twenty years. See Edward Epstein, Congress to Consider Easing
Presidential Eligibility; Naturalized Citizens Would be Able to Hold Highest Office, S.F.
CHRON., Oct. 1, 2004, at A4. Most commentators seem to think that this amendment was](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/fclj6&div=13&collection=journals&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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Could Arnold Schwaraenegger Run for President Now
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