Obama attacked from right, McCain from left

I will be so glad when this election is over.

Obama accused of being ineligible to serve as President
I first learned about the Berg v. Obama suit at Some Have Hats. Essentially, a Pennsylvania lawyer by the name of Philip J. Berg is suing Senator Obama and the Democratic Party claiming that Obama is not eligible to be President because he is not a "natural born citizen" of the United States. Obama says he was born in Hawaii, but Berg claims that Obama may have been born in Kenya; that even if Obama was born in Hawaii, he lost his American citizenship when his stepfather moved the family to Indonesia; and that, even if Obama didn't lose his citizenship then, he lost it when he traveled to Pakistan in 1981, supposedly on an Indonesian passport since, under Indonesian law, no dual citizenship is recognized and Obama, then 20 (and therefore past the Indonesian age of maturity, 18) would have had to declare himself an Indonesian to obtain the travel document.

There really is such a suit pending in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania under docket no. 2:08-cv-04083.

However, can we all take a breath here? John McCain has also been accused of being Constitutionally ineligible since he was born in... or perhaps near... the Canal Zone in 1936. On the other hand, both his parents were American citizens, his father a career Navy officer (which was why the McCains were in Panama in the first place). The linked article in the Washington Post says there's a suit pending about this, too, although I've not independently verified that one. So this might be written off as tit-for-tat.

But let's step back just another step, OK? The plaintiff, Berg, claims to be a lifelong Democrat and, in one article I read whilst putting this together, a Hillary Clinton supporter. Yet his suit was filed in late August.

Ladies and gentlemen, I put it to you plainly: If there were any chance that Senator Obama really was ineligible to serve, Hillary would have shouted it from every rooftop, whistle-stop, and street-corner. Her research people dug out papers Obama wrote in kindergarten and the third grade in which he expressed a desire to one day become President of the United States. Remember?

I'm pretty certain that, if Hillary could dig that out, she'd have dug out evidence that Obama was ineligible to serve. If it existed.

Meanwhile, McCain's temper called "national security risk"
My blogfriend Fran, of Where Fibers Meet Mud sent me this link to a YouTube video about John McCain's temper.

He's apparently got a temper. A volatile temper. And the slick video quotes high-ranking military people, political associates (one-time allies, even), and others about it. Keith Olbermann handles some of the narration.

The producers of the video want the viewer to arrive at the conclusion that it would be dangerous to elect Senator McCain because of his temper -- because he might Push The Button. As if The Button were like a cell phone or a TV remote that might be carried about and punched in a fit of pique before anyone could voice an objection.

Again, let's step back: A temper is not necessarily a bad thing. Of course I would say that, since I have a temper, too. But, for me, a temper is like lighting a thin strip of magnesium: There's a brief, white-hot flare-up... but it burns out quickly and leaves little residue. Often, a little guilt, but that's about it. It is almost certainly not pleasant to be in my company at those moments and I am certain that it probably would be unpleasant around Senator McCain when he loses his temper, too.

I bet even Barack Obama has a temper. We'd better hope so: I would think the only people who never lose their temper are those who don't care a feather or a fig for anything. It is fortunate for Senator Obama, I assume, that no video was running when he was presented with the Philip J. Berg lawsuit referred to above.

But let's step back still another step: A hot temper may lead to a punch in the nose, but not to a war. It takes a long time to move troops and planes and ships and supplies forward to places where they can be used against a potential enemy. Longer than even the hottest temper can be held. And, as for pushing The Button, that would take awhile, too.

There may be lots of reasons to oppose the candidacies of Senators Obama and McCain, but their citizenship and tempers aren't among them.