Obama Citizenship

Where Did the Presidential Eligibility Protocol Go?

By Phil

We already knew that, in recent political history, the press took its role in helping the public to vet presidential candidates seriously by investigating the background of previous presidential contenders and winners.

But did you know that evidence exists much further back in history that there were protocols in place to vet a presidential candidate?

Via BirtherReport.com, Linda Bentley over at SonoranNews.com continues her responsible reporting by continuing to take the eligibility question seriously enough to compile yet another article, this time regarding President Eisenhower.

She reported a few days ago that a concerned citizen had forwarded her a copy of an online image from the Deseret News and Telegram, a long-since defunct newspaper, from 1952. In part, the following was discovered:

The article appeared on page 6A with a dateline of Sherman, Texas. It was headlined: ?General?s birth certificate officially filed,? and stated, ?A certificate recording Dwight Eisenhower?s birth in Denison on Oct. 14, 1890, was filed Wednesday [Oct. 1, 1952] in the Grayson County Clerk?s office.

?Nobody had bothered to make out a certificate when the Republican presidential candidate was born in a house at the corner of Lamar and Day streets in nearby Denison.

?A copy of the certificate filed Wednesday was mailed to Mrs. Eisenhower in Denver. Eisenhower?s older brother, Arthur, signed the certificate. It was also signed by the Grayson County Judge J.N. Dickson and recorded by County Clerk J.C. Buchanan.?

Assuming that the newspaper article was verified as legitimate by Ms. Bentley (Update: Linda commented below on its authenticity; thanks, Linda!), we could safely assume a few things regarding the history of presidential eligibility:

1. Regardless of any outstanding laws at the time, clearly a birth certificate was considered “enough” evidence to help in determining presidential eligibility (this has long since been a question individuals such as myself have asked in terms of the thoroughness to which a candidate ought to be considered eligible);
2. Such a birth certificate was “officially filed” (we’re not talking about third-party institutions or organizations here; we’re talking about being filed with the government, per se);
3. The official filing was executed at the County Clerk’s office (this suggests that the Secretary of State’s office is, in fact, the one who is accountable to be sure that all eligibility requirements are properly fulfilled);
4. Even though President Eisenhower was born outside of a hospital, the actual certificate was not only signed by at least one family member, but an official — a judge — at the local government extension (in this case, a local courthouse) also signed it and the paperwork was officially recorded by the clerk.

So:

Where did the protocol go? Does Denison, TX still have this protocol in place?

Regardless, another presidential election season will soon be at hand, and I have a few ideas on how to get a head start on the eligibility issue.

In the meantime, the first wave of governmental accountability is coming soon to a ballot box near you.

-Phil

phil [at] therightsideoflife [dot] comSimilar Posts:

• House Eligibility Bill Gets Cosponsor
• PA State Rep Authoring Legislation on Candidate Eligibility Based on Obama Citizenship Questions
• Arizona State Reps and Senators Introduce Citizenship Bill
• Keyes v. Bowen: Orange County Register Post
• OK State House Passes Candidate Eligibility Bill, 72-23

Full post as published by The Right Side of Life on September 24, 2010 (boomark / email).